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Ci-POU-IV expression identifies PNS neurons in embryos and larvae of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis

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Abstract

Several lines of evidence suggest that members of the POU domain gene family may regulate invertebrate and vertebrate neurogenesis. In particular, POU IV genes appear to be neural genes involved in differentiation of sensory neurons, as demonstrated in mollusc, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans and vertebrates. In the present work, we describe the developmental expression of a homologue of POU IV genes, Ci-POU-IV, in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Ci-POU-IV is expressed in the precursor cells of the neural system during development and in the neural system of the larva. In particular, transcripts are prevalent in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), with expression in the central nervous system (CNS) restricted to the posterior sensory vesicle. Therefore, the evolution of a complex sensory system seems to be under the control of a common genetic mechanism.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by MIUR/FIRB 2001 grant BAU01WAFY to S.C., R.P., D.O., M.P. and F.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Genova, viale Benedetto XV 5, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Simona Candiani, Diana Oliveri & Mario Pestarino

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione di Zoologia SN 7B, Università di Milano, via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Roberta Pennati & Fiorenza De Bernardi

  3. Laboratorio di Biochimica e Biologia Molecolare, Stazione Zoologica “A. Dohrn”, 80121, Napoli, Italy

    Annamaria Locascio & Margherita Branno

  4. Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, largo R. Benzi 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Patrizio Castagnola

Authors
  1. Simona Candiani
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  2. Roberta Pennati
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  3. Diana Oliveri
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  4. Annamaria Locascio
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  5. Margherita Branno
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  6. Patrizio Castagnola
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  7. Mario Pestarino
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  8. Fiorenza De Bernardi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario Pestarino.

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Edited by N. Satoh

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Candiani, S., Pennati, R., Oliveri, D. et al. Ci-POU-IV expression identifies PNS neurons in embryos and larvae of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Dev Genes Evol 215, 41–45 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-004-0444-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-004-0444-y

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