The complex spatio-temporal patterns of development and anatomy of nervous systems play a key role in our understanding of arthropod evolution. However, the degree of resolution of neural processes is not always detailed enough to claim homology between arthropod groups. One example is neural precursors and their progeny in crustaceans and insects. Pioneer neurons of crustaceans and insects show some similarities that indicate homology. In contrast, the differentiation of insect and crustacean neuroblasts (NBs) shows profound differences and their homology is controversial. For Drosophila and grasshoppers, the complete lineage of several NBs up to formation of pioneer neurons is known. Apart from data on median NBs no comparable results exist for Crustacea. Accordingly, it is not clear where the crustacean pioneer neurons come from and whether there are NBs lateral to the midline homologous to those of insects. To fill this gap, individual NBs in the ventral neuroectoderm of the crustacean Orchestia cavimana were labelled in vivo with a fluorescent dye. A partial neuroblast map was established and for the first time lineages from individual NBs to identified pioneer neurons were established in a crustacean. Our data strongly suggest homology of NBs and their lineages, providing further evidence for a close insect-crustacean relationship.Keywords: Drosophila; evolution; arthropods; neurogenesis; cell lineage
INTRODUCTIONDespite the overall similarities of the central nervous system (CNS) between the major arthropod groups, its early development shows some distinct differences at the cellular level. In myriapods and chelicerates, clusters of neural precursors immigrate from the ventral neuroectoderm and differentiate directly into neurons or glia cells to form the ventral CNS (figure 1; Stollewerk et al. 2001;Mittmann 2002;Stollewerk & Chipman 2006). In contrast, insects and crustaceans form their ventral CNS via neuroblasts (NBs), large neural precursor cells dividing in an asymmetrical stem cell mode to produce columns of ganglion mother cells (GMCs). At least in insects, each GMC in turn divides once to generate ganglion cells (GCs) that differentiate into neurons and/or glia cells (figure 1; insects: Wheeler 1891, Bate 1976, Doe & Goodman 1985, Hartenstein et al. 1987, Truman & Ball 1998 crustaceans: McMurrich 1895, Dohle 1976, Scholtz 1992, Gerberding 1997, Harzsch 2001.In 1984, Thomas et al. (1984) detected a set of early differentiating neurons, responsible for pioneering major axon pathways in the embryonic CNS of insects and crustaceans, which led them to propose a common plan for neurogenesis in arthropods. A series of subsequent studies at the level of individually identified neurons including position, axon morphology and timing of outgrowth confirmed the existence of a set of homologous pioneer neurons in insects and crustaceans that finds no counterpart in myriapods (Whitington et al.