P1-27  Monday, Jan. 4 15:30  Genomic Basis of Regeneration in the Ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi. SANFORD, RS*; KOHN, AB; MOROZ, LL; The Whitney Lab for Marine Biosci; St. Augustine, FL 32080; The Whitney Lab for Marine Biosci; St. Augustine, FL 32080; The Whitney Lab for Marine Biosci; St. Augustine, FL 32080; Dept of Neurosci and Brain Institute, Univ of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA rsanford@ufl.edu

The amazing ability of regeneration in ctenophores has captured the interest of biologists for centuries. The morphological features of ctenophore regeneration have been documented, but the molecular and cellular components behind this phenomenon have remained a mystery. With this study we have performed RNA-seq analyses of the regeneration dynamics using next generation sequencing technologies. The data show evidence for the involvement of several dozen of evolutionarily conserved and ctenophore-specific signal transduction pathways in the regeneration in Mnemiopsis including novel secretory peptide candidates, their receptors, components of downstream Ca²⁺-dependent and MAP-kinase cascades as well as energetic and cell adhesion components. In addition, we identified a unique subset of transcription factors involved in the regeneration including homeobox, forkhead, transcriptional enhancers and inhibitors. Our data suggest that many of these transcription factors are upstream regulators of the pathways involved in regeneration. In summary, the identification of hundreds of ctenophore-specific genes and molecules associated with regeneration illuminate novel evolutionary mechanisms and strategies underlying morphogenesis and origins of evolutionary innovations in Metazoa.

Supported by NSF, NIH, NASA