Prof. Dr. Gregor Bucher (University of Göttingen)

Diversification of the insect brain – from the molecular code of neural stem cells to divergence of homologous genetic neural lineages

Evolutionary adaptations of the brain emerge during development and are essential for animal survival. For instance, bees evolved enlarged mushroom bodies reflecting their capacity for learning and memory, adult neurogenesis is found in the mushroom bodies of beetles but not in flies and beetle larvae navigate with a central complex (CX) while fly larvae lack this neuropil. However, the cellular and genetic mechanisms controlling brain diversification remain enigmatic. To study brain diversification between life stages and between taxa, we compare development of the beetle Tribolium castaneum with the fly Drosophila melanogaster. We use single cell sequencing to study the genetic code of neural stem cells and homology-directed genome editing to mark homologous neural cells throughout development. Among a number of cellular differences, we found nine type II neuroblasts in beetle embryos (compared to eight in flies) and their increased division activity correlates with the earlier emergence of a CX in beetle larvae. Intriguingly, the larval CX actually represents a developmental stage, which gained functionality precociously. In the future, we will try to understand the genetic and hormonal control of these differences. Noel Sanchez Cabanas, Georg Bullinger, Max S. Farnworth, Christine Mau, Gregor Bucher Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany

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