AUTHOR=Dailey Simon C. , Febrero Planas Roser , Rossell Espier Ariadna , Garcia-Fernàndez Jordi , Somorjai Ildikó M. L. 

TITLE=Asymmetric Distribution of pl10 and bruno2, New Members of a Conserved Core of Early Germline Determinants in Cephalochordates

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2015.00156

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2015.00156

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=<p>Molecular fingerprinting of conserved germline and somatic “stemness” markers in different taxa have been key in defining the mechanism of germline specification (“preformation” or “epigenesis”), as well as expression domains of somatic progenitors. The distribution of molecular markers for primordial germ cells (PGCs), including <italic>vasa, nanos, and piwil1</italic>, as well as Vasa antibody staining, support a determinative mechanism of germline specification in the cephalochordate <italic>Branchiostoma lanceolatum</italic>, similarly to other amphioxus species. <italic>pl10</italic> and <italic>bruno2</italic>, but not <italic>bruno4/6</italic>, are also expressed in a pattern consistent with these other germline genes, adding to our repertoire of PGC markers in lancelets. Expression of <italic>nanos, vasa</italic>, and the remaining markers (<italic>musashi, pufA, pufB, pumilio</italic>, and <italic>piwil2</italic>) may define populations of putative somatic progenitors in the tailbud, the amphioxus posterior growth zone, or zones of proliferative activity. Finally, we also identify a novel expression domain for <italic>musashi</italic>, a classic neural stem cell marker, during notochord development in amphioxus. These results are discussed in the context of germline determination in other taxa, stem cell regulation, and regenerative capacity in adult amphioxus.</p>