Octopuses have been called 'the most intelligent invertebrate', with a
host of complex behaviours, and a nervous system comparable in size to
that of mammals but organized in a very different manner. It had been
hypothesized that, as in vertebrates, whole-genome duplication
contributed to the evolution of this complex nervous system. Caroline
Albertin et al. have sequenced the genome and multiple transcriptomes of the California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides)
and find no evidence for such duplications but there are large-scale
genome rearrangements closely associated with octopus-specific
transposable elements. The core developmental and neuronal gene
repertoire turns out to be broadly similar to that of other
invertebrates, apart from expansions in two gene families formerly
thought to be uniquely expanded in vertebrates — the protocadherins
(cell-adhesion molecules that regulate neural development) and the C2H2
superfamily of zinc-finger transcription factors.
The octopus genome and the evolution of cephalopod neural and morphological novelties
The illustrations in this book are magnificent. Playful and complex and just plain weird!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose, glad you like 'em!
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