The birth of the synapse

Brain Structure and Function volume 222, pages3369–3374(2017)Cite this article

Abstract

It has long been held that the rise of neurons as a specialized cell type also marked the onset of the grand evolutionary journey for chemical synapses. Research over recent decades has shown, however, that the most dynamic chapters of synaptic history have been ‘written’ out of the context of neurobiology and neuronal evolution, dating back to the early metazoa and unicellular living forms. Here, I consider and discuss emerging evidence suggesting the exaptive origin of chemical synapses, via tinkering and neo-functionalization of already existent junctional morphologies and constituents of primeval paracrine signalling. Through combination and collateral use of long-established structures and functions, a remarkable enrichment of regulatory and control mechanisms of complex living organisms was achieved, without large-scale reorganization of the genome, with tremendous impact on the evolution and life on our planet.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr. Tomas Ryan and Dr. Valerie B. O’Leary for reading and commenting on this manuscript.

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Affiliations

  1. Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Saak V. Ovsepian

  2. School of Bioengineering, Technical University Munich, 81675, Munich, Germany

    Saak V. Ovsepian

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  1. Saak V. Ovsepian
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Correspondence to Saak V. Ovsepian.

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Ovsepian, S.V. The birth of the synapse. Brain Struct Funct 222, 3369–3374 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1459-2

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Keywords

  • Synaptic evolution
  • Chemical synapse
  • Exaptation
  • Gap junctions