课题组对掠食性线虫Pristionchthem pacificthem的大脑进行了电子显微成像重建，并将结果与秀丽隐杆线虫（Caenorhabditis elegans）的大脑进行了比较，后者至少在1亿年前就分化出来了。课题组揭示了神经元细胞死亡、神经元细胞位置、轴突投射模式和同源神经元突触连通性的变化，但在整体神经突形态和投射模式上没有明显变化。这些进化变化的多尺度模式没有显示出对特定大脑区域或神经元类型的偏见。
据介绍，理解双侧脑的进化需要对相关物种之间细胞和亚细胞差异的精确本质进行详细的探索。
附：英文原文
Title: Comparative connectomics of two distantly related nematode species reveals patterns of nervous system evolution
Author: Steven J. Cook, Cristine A. Kalinski, Curtis M. Loer, Nadin Memar, Maryam Majeed, Sarah Rebecca Stephen, Daniel J. Bumbarger, Metta Riebesell, Barbara Conradt, Ralf Schnabel, Ralf J. Sommer, Oliver Hobert
Issue&Volume: 2025-07-31
Abstract: Understanding the evolution of the bilaterian brain requires a detailed exploration of the precise nature of cellular and subcellular differences between related species. We undertook an electron micrographic reconstruction of the brain of the predatory nematode Pristionchus pacificus and compared the results with the brain of Caenorhabditis elegans, which diverged at least 100 million years ago. We revealed changes in neuronal cell death, neuronal cell position, axodendritic projection patterns, and synaptic connectivity of homologous neurons that display no obvious changes in overall neurite morphology and projection patterns. These multiscale patterns of evolutionary changes show no bias to specific brain regions or neuron types.
DOI: adx2143
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx2143