Scientists at Stowers Institute have revealed that the brain development in sea lampreys shows striking similarities to human brain development.
The sea lamprey, an ancient creature dating back 500 million years with a mouth resembling a sharp-toothed suction cup, seems like it’s straight out of a horror story. Recent research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has revealed that the hindbrain, which governs crucial functions such as blood pressure and heart rate, in both sea lampreys and humans, is constructed using a remarkably similar set of molecular and genetic tools.
Research from the lab of Investigator Robb Krumlauf, Ph.D., recently published in
Unique Features of Sea Lampreys
Like other vertebrate animals, sea lampreys have a backbone and skeleton, but they are noticeably missing a feature of their heads—a jaw. Because most
A team of scientists from the Stowers Institute discovered that the hindbrain—the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate—of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit. Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Previous work from the Krumlauf Lab and the lab of Marianne Bronner, Ph.D., at the California Institute of Technology had identified that the genes structuring and subdividing the sea lamprey hindbrain are identical to those in jawed vertebrates including humans.
However, these genes are part of an interconnected network or circuit that needs to be initiated and directed to build the hindbrain correctly. The new study identified a common molecular cue, while known to direct head-to-tail patterning in a wide variety of animals, as part of the gene circuitry guiding hindbrain patterning in sea lampreys.
“We found that not only are the same genes but also the same cue is involved in sea lamprey hindbrain development, suggesting this process is ancestral to all vertebrates,” said Bedois.
Discovery of Retinoic Acid’s Role
This cue is called retinoic DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45911-x
This work was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (award: R35NS111564) of the