Cellular identity and Ca²⁺ signaling activity of the non-reproductive GnRH system in the Ciona intestinalis type A (Ciona robusta) larva.

ABSTRACT: Tunicate larvae have a non-reproductive gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system with multiple ligands and receptor heterodimerization enabling complex regulation. In Ciona intestinalis type A larvae, one of the gnrh genes, gnrh2, is conspicuously expressed in the motor ganglion and nerve cord, which are homologous structures to the hindbrain and spinal cord, respectively, of vertebrates. The gnrh2 gene is also expressed in the proto-placodal sensory neurons, which are the proposed homologue of vertebrate olfactory neurons. Tunicate larvae occupy a non-reproductive dispersal stage, yet the role of their GnRH system remains elusive. In this study, we investigated neuronal types of gnrh2-expressing cells in Ciona larvae and visualized the activity of these cells by fluorescence imaging u

SUBMITTER: Okawa N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7596717 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature