Comb jellyfish have a unique neural system that could inspire innovations in synthetic and regenerative medicine.
Researchers decoded the "genomic blueprints" of 10 species of comb jelly (ctenophore). The team found the creatures developed a set of complex organs, neurons, and muscles much different than what is seen in creatures such as sponges, a University of Florida news release reported.
"This paper is also distinct from other studies because it, for the first time, unites microchemical and physiological approaches to validate genomic predictions," researcher Leonid Moroz, a professor of neuroscience, genetics, chemistry and biology in the UF College of Medicine, McKnight Brain Institute and the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Biosciences, said in the news release. "By revealing the unique molecular make-up of major features - the development, immune system, nerves and muscles - I can honestly introduce you to the aliens of the sea."
"If you met an alien you would assume it is radically different from us," Moroz said. "There is no need to wait - these aliens are in our backyard."
Most of the animal kingdom developed along one pathway the comb jelly took its own route to evolution.
"Some ctenophores can regenerate an elementary brain - also known as the aboral organ or gravity sensor - in [three and a half] days." Moroz said. "In one of my experiments, one lobate ctenophore - Bolinopsis - regenerated its brain four times."
The researcher could lead to breakthroughs in treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Many genes present in almost every neural system is absent in the comb jelly. The creatures do not use serotonin, dopamine, or acetylcholine to control brain functions, but instead employ a system of "peptides and glutamate neural signaling, genetic editing and a diverse array of electrical synapses," the news release reported.
"Our concept of nature was that there was only one way to make a neural system. We oversimplified evolution," Moroz said. "There is more than one way to make a brain, a complex neural circuit and behaviors."
"What if we could not only slow the progression of Parkinson's or memory loss in aging, but reverse it?" he said. "Ctenophores show us that there is more than one design for a complex nervous and muscular organization."
