Final Report Summary - AMPHIOXUSNOS (Study of Nitric Oxide Synthase in Amphioxus)
We investigated the Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) evolution, its regulation during animal development and the biomedical importance due to its implication in the physiopatology of many human diseases. Nitric Oxide (NO) is an essential molecule to many physiological functions including neurotrasmission, learning and memory, cardiovascular homeostasis, angiogenesis, immune response, development and apoptosis. NO, probably one of the oldest bioregulatory systems controlling metazoan physiology, is a diffusible highly reactive gas produced by the enzymatic conversion of L-arginine by Nitric Oxide Synthases (NOS).
The aim of the present project was the study of the expression pattern and regulation of three different NOS genes in the chordate amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum, a marine invertebrate organism, in order to find out vertebrates ancestral functions. Amphioxus is the best available stand-in for the proximate invertebrate ancestor of the vertebrates, with a body plan and a genome that are vertebrate-like, but simpler.
One of the most important results reached thanks to the CIG grant is the setup of an amphioxus facility in the Host Institution, the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn of Napoli (Italy), a marine laboratory with a long history in studies of comparative embryology and evolution. The availability of live adult amphioxus in the Host Institute as well as live embryos is already an important achievement for the success of the project. We are the only research institute in Italy in which it is possible to work with live embryos at date. The amphioxus facility accommodate many animals and simulate their original marine environment. In a close future we would like to enlarge the facility in order to have thousands of adult animals in different tanks separated for the local source and for the gonadal status, that will guarantee a large number of embryos at different stage of development.
Most of the objectives regarding the scientific project supported by the CIG grant were reached and we are preparing a couple of original manuscript for publication in international peer review journals. The completion of this project will be of great general scientific relevance because a complete study of NO pathway during the first stages of animal development is still lacking in literature.
The Researcher, Salvatore D’Aniello is now well integrated in the Host Institute as a staff Researcher and thanks to the CIG grant he is now independent and was able to built his own group that guarantee the transfer of knowledge. As integration activities he participated to the duties of the Host Institute, teaching in PhD courses and giving talks occasionally. The execution of the project is complying with the proposed objectives and timing.
The establishment of the amphioxus facility gave to Salvatore D’Aniello the possibility to start new collaborations using the amphioxus as animal model specie but at the same time it allowed the achievement of comparative projects that employed other deuterostomes organisms, as ascidians and sea urchins.
Manuscript funded by the grant.
(*corresponding author)
1. Coppola U, Annona G, D’Aniello S* and Ristoratore F*. Rab32/38 duplicated genes in chordate pigmentation: an evolutionary perspective (BMC Developmental Biology, under II revision).
2. Annona G, Holland ND* and D’Aniello S*. Evolution of the notochord. EvoDevo (EVOD-D-15-00015R1, in press, 2015).
3. Anishchenko E and D’Aniello S*. Tunicate neurogenesis: the case of the SoxB2 missing CNE. Mathematical Models in Biology. Springer (in press, 2015).
4. Vassalli QA, Anishchenko E, Caputi L, Sordino P, D'Aniello S*, Locascio A*. Regulatory elements retained during chordate evolution: Coming across tunicates. Genesis (2015) 53: 66-81.
5. Pascual-Anaya J, D’Aniello S, Kuratani S, Garcia-Fernàndez J. Evolution of the Hox clusters in deuterostomes. BMC Developmental Biology (2013) 13: 26.
The aim of the present project was the study of the expression pattern and regulation of three different NOS genes in the chordate amphioxus Branchiostoma lanceolatum, a marine invertebrate organism, in order to find out vertebrates ancestral functions. Amphioxus is the best available stand-in for the proximate invertebrate ancestor of the vertebrates, with a body plan and a genome that are vertebrate-like, but simpler.
One of the most important results reached thanks to the CIG grant is the setup of an amphioxus facility in the Host Institution, the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn of Napoli (Italy), a marine laboratory with a long history in studies of comparative embryology and evolution. The availability of live adult amphioxus in the Host Institute as well as live embryos is already an important achievement for the success of the project. We are the only research institute in Italy in which it is possible to work with live embryos at date. The amphioxus facility accommodate many animals and simulate their original marine environment. In a close future we would like to enlarge the facility in order to have thousands of adult animals in different tanks separated for the local source and for the gonadal status, that will guarantee a large number of embryos at different stage of development.
Most of the objectives regarding the scientific project supported by the CIG grant were reached and we are preparing a couple of original manuscript for publication in international peer review journals. The completion of this project will be of great general scientific relevance because a complete study of NO pathway during the first stages of animal development is still lacking in literature.
The Researcher, Salvatore D’Aniello is now well integrated in the Host Institute as a staff Researcher and thanks to the CIG grant he is now independent and was able to built his own group that guarantee the transfer of knowledge. As integration activities he participated to the duties of the Host Institute, teaching in PhD courses and giving talks occasionally. The execution of the project is complying with the proposed objectives and timing.
The establishment of the amphioxus facility gave to Salvatore D’Aniello the possibility to start new collaborations using the amphioxus as animal model specie but at the same time it allowed the achievement of comparative projects that employed other deuterostomes organisms, as ascidians and sea urchins.
Manuscript funded by the grant.
(*corresponding author)
1. Coppola U, Annona G, D’Aniello S* and Ristoratore F*. Rab32/38 duplicated genes in chordate pigmentation: an evolutionary perspective (BMC Developmental Biology, under II revision).
2. Annona G, Holland ND* and D’Aniello S*. Evolution of the notochord. EvoDevo (EVOD-D-15-00015R1, in press, 2015).
3. Anishchenko E and D’Aniello S*. Tunicate neurogenesis: the case of the SoxB2 missing CNE. Mathematical Models in Biology. Springer (in press, 2015).
4. Vassalli QA, Anishchenko E, Caputi L, Sordino P, D'Aniello S*, Locascio A*. Regulatory elements retained during chordate evolution: Coming across tunicates. Genesis (2015) 53: 66-81.
5. Pascual-Anaya J, D’Aniello S, Kuratani S, Garcia-Fernàndez J. Evolution of the Hox clusters in deuterostomes. BMC Developmental Biology (2013) 13: 26.