Formation of body appendages during caudal regeneration in Platynereis dumerilii: adaptation of conserved molecular toolsets

BACKGROUND: Platynereis and other polychaete annelids with homonomous segmentation are regarded to closely resemble ancestral forms of bilateria. The head region comprises the prostomium, the peristomium, a variable number of cephalized body segments and several appendages, like cirri, antennae and palps. The trunk of such polychaetes shows numerous, nearly identical segments. Each segment bears a parapodium with species-specific morphology on either side. The posterior end of the trunk features a segment proliferation zone and a terminal pygidium with the anus and anal cirri. The removal of a substantial part of the posterior trunk is by no means lethal. Cells at the site of injury dedifferentiate and proliferate forming a blastema to regenerate both the pygidium and the proliferation zone. The pygidium forms new anal cirri, and the proliferation zone generates new segments at a rapid pace. The formation of body appendages like the cirri and the segmental parapodia can thus be studied in the caudal regenerate of Platynereis within only a few days. RESULTS: The development of body appendages in Platynereis is regulated by a network of genes common to polychaetes but also shared by distant taxa. We isolated DNA sequences from P. dumerilii of five genes known to be involved in appendage formation within other groups: Meis/homothorax, Pbx1/extradenticle, Dlx/Distal-less, decapentaplegic and specificprotein1/buttonhead. Analyses of expression patterns during caudal regeneration by in situ hybridization reveal striking similarities related to expression in arthropods and vertebrates. All genes exhibit transient expression during differentiation and growth of segments. As was shown previously in other phyla Pdu-Meis/hth and Pdu-Pbx1/exd are co-expressed, although the expression is not limited to the proximal part of the parapodia. Pdu-Dll is prominent in parapodia but upregulated in the anal cirri. No direct dependence concerning Pdu-Dll and Pdu-sp/btd expression is observed in Platynereis. Pdu-dpp shows an expression pattern not comparable to its expression in other taxa. CONCLUSIONS: The expression patterns observed suggest conserved roles of these genes during appendage formation across different clades, but the underlying mechanisms utilizing this toolset might not be identical. Some genes show broad expression along the proximodistal axis indicating a possible role in proximodistal patterning of body appendages. Other genes exhibit expression patterns limited to specific parts and tissues of the growing parapodia, thus presumably being involved in formation of taxon-specific morphological differences. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13227-016-0046-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.