EVOLUTION & DEVELOPMENT 12:4, 404–415 (2010) DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142X.2010.00427.x Evolutionary origin of rhopalia: insights from cellular-level analyses of Otx and POU expression patterns in the developing rhopalial nervous system Nagayasu Nakanishi,a,Ã David Yuan,a Volker Hartenstein,b and David K. Jacobsa aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles CA 90095-1606, USA bDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, UCLA, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles CA 90095- 1606, USA ÃAuthor for correspondence (email:
[email protected]) SUMMARY In Cnidaria, the medusae of Scyphozoa and its rhopalium, within which distinct populations of AurBrn3- and sister-group Cubozoa uniquely possess rhopalia at their bell AurPit1-expressing sensory cells develop. Thus, despite the margin. These sensory centers coordinate behavior and unique attributes of rhopalial evolution, we suggest that the development. We used fluorescent in situ hybridization and rhopalial nervous system of scyphozoan medusae involves confocal microscopy to examine mRNA expression patterns in similar patterns of differential expression of genes that Aurelia sp.1 (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) during early medusa function in bilaterian cephalic structure and neuroendocrine formation, while simultaneously visualizing the develop- system development. We propose that rhopalia evolved ing nervous system by immunofluorescence. The genes from preexisting sensory structures that developed distinct investigated include AurOtx1, and the POU genes, AurPit1, populations of sensory cells differentially expressing POU and AurBrn3, homologs of genes known to function in ceph- genes within Otx oral-neuroectodermal domains. This implies alar neural organization and sensory cell differentiation across some commonality of developmental genetic functions Bilateria.