AUTHOR=D’Aniello Enrico , Paganos Periklis , Anishchenko Evgeniya , D’Aniello Salvatore , Arnone Maria Ina 

TITLE=Comparative Neurobiology of Biogenic Amines in Animal Models in Deuterostomes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2020.587036

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2020.587036

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=<p>We review the occurrence of biogenic amines and their potential role as neurotransmitters in the nervous system of three groups of invertebrate deuterostomes: tunicates, cephalochordates, and echinoderms. In addition to an overview of biogenic amines in each subphylum, we focus on a few species, including the sea squirts <italic>Ciona intestinalis, C. robusta, C. savignyi</italic>, and <italic>Phallusia mammillata</italic> (tunicates), the lancelets <italic>Branchiostoma lanceolatum</italic> and <italic>Branchiostoma floridae</italic> (cephalochordates), and the sea urchin <italic>Strongylocentrotus purpuratus</italic> (echinoderms). We chose these species as they are the most studied invertebrate deuterostomes in the field of evolutionary developmental biology (EvoDevo). Providing a comparative picture of the expression and role of neurotransmitters in deuterostomes will contribute to understanding the evolution of these neural signaling systems. Such an approach represents a new frontier of comparative neuroanatomy and neurobiology, and a prerequisite to uncover the homology of neuronal structures and circuits in deuterostomes with such diverse body plan organization and complexity.</p>