Fine taxonomic sampling of nervous systems within Naididae (Annelida: Clitellata) reveals evolutionary lability and revised homologies of annelid neural components.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

An important goal for understanding how animals have evolved is to reconstruct the ancestral features and evolution of the nervous system. Many inferences about nervous system evolution are weak because of sparse taxonomic sampling and deep phylogenetic distances among species compared. Increasing sampling within clades can strengthen inferences by revealing which features are conserved and which are variable within them. Among the Annelida, the segmented worms, the Clitellata are typically considered as having a largely conserved neural architecture, though this view is based on limited sampling.

Results

To gain better understanding of nervous system evolution within Clitellata, we used immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning microscopy to describe the

SUBMITTER: Zattara EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4424535 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature