CODE 106985 ACADEMIC YEAR 2024/2025 CREDITS 2 cfu anno 3 SCIENZE BIOLOGICHE 8762 (L-13) - GENOVA SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR BIO/06 TEACHING LOCATION GENOVA SEMESTER 2° Semester TEACHING MATERIALS AULAWEB OVERVIEW The course of "Evolutionary Developmental Neurobiology (evo-devo)" deals with some aspects of the evolution of the nervous system and sense organs of metazoans. In particular, it analyzes how changes in the mechanisms of embryonic development could generate the diversity of nervous systems encountered in living animals. It is essential to investigate the nervous system with an evo-devo approach to understand its complexity. AIMS AND CONTENT LEARNING OUTCOMES The course regards evolution and development of the nervous system in animals, with particular attention to the central nervous system and the sense organs. AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES The teaching aims at providing the student with advanced knowledge of Developmental Neurobiology, with particular reference to the mechanisms underlying the evolution of the nervous system. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation and morphogenesis of nervous tissue in different animal groups will be analyzed with a comparative approach. The evolution of cranial placodes and neural crests will be explored with emphasis on the development of sensory and neurosecretory structures derived from cranial placodes in chordates. To this end, the main basic and advanced methods for the analysis of the organization and development of the nervous system of different animals are discussed. The teaching, therefore, has the following objectives: 1) Imparting basic notions of evolutionary biology, with particular reference to the developmental mechanisms that give rise to heritable variation (evo-devo); 2) Imparting basic notions of metazoan phylogeny and discuss in depth the correct way to interpret a phylogenetic tree; 3) Describe the different organizations of the metazoan nervous systems; 4) Introducing the concept of primary larva, describing its apical nervous system, and discussing the implications on the evolution of the nervous system of invertebrates and vertebrates as well as on the evolution of the larvae themselves; 5) Describing the main processes of neural development and the signaling pathways that direct cells towards neural specification and differentiation; 6) Understanding the mechanisms underlying the regionalization of the vertebrate nervous system; 7) Discuss the different hypotheses on the origin and evolution of the nervous system by integrating the embryological and phylogenetic data present in the literature; 8) Describe the evolutionary history of cranial placodes and neural crests. The expected learning outcomes are: 1. Knowledge and understanding: Knowledge of the terminology of the discipline; Knowledge of investigation methods in comparative neuroanatomy and evolutionary developmental neurobiology; Knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to the development of the nervous system in different animal models; Understanding of the different mechanisms by which alterations in embryonic development can result in the emergence of a new phenotype. 2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: Reading a phylogenetic tree and use it to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a character. Integrating knowledge relating to the mechanisms of neural differentiation and metazoan phylogeny to answer questions concerning the origin and evolution of the nervous system. 3. Soft skills: The topics covered bridge the disciplines of Zoology, Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology, and Neuroanatomy and stimulate the student to look at old knowledge with a new point of view. Acquiring a basic but solid understanding of the process of biological evolution, which underlies and is the ultimate cause of all biological processes, qualifies the student to contribute to the debate about evolution, also outside the scientific community. The course aims to provide the student with advanced knowledge of developmental neurobiology, with particular reference to the mechanisms underlying the evolution of the nervous system. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of the differentiation and morphogenesis of nervous tissue will be addressed in different invertebrate and vertebrate models. The evolutionary history of cranial placodes will be addressed with introduction to ectodermal patterning in metazoans and development of placodal sensory and neurosecretory structures. The student will be able to: 1) describe different metazoans nervous system organization; 2) describe the main processes of neural development; 3) identify the molecular pathways that direct cells towards neuronal differentiation; 4) understand the mechanisms underlying the regionalization of the nervous system; 5) describe the hypotheses on the evolutionary history of nervous system comparing embryological and phylogenetical data obtained from the literature; 6) describe the evolution of cranial placodes; 7) describe some aspects of the development of placode-derived structures. The main goal is to give the basis to understand the genesis of the complexity of the nervous system through the critical reading of scientific articles. PREREQUISITES Basic knowledge of Embryology and Zoology. It is also recommended to have previously attended the Developmental Biology course. TEACHING METHODS The teaching consists of 16 hours of frontal lessons with slideshows. Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sara Ferrando (sara.ferrando@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison. SYLLABUS/CONTENT Origin of heritable variation: evolution and development. Key concepts in evolutionary developmental biology. A case study of body plan evolution: how the stickleback lost its spines. What phylogenetic trees are and how to read them. Phylogeny of the main animal phyla. The comparative approach. The importance of the correctness of phylogenetic trees to understand the evolution of the nervous system. The concept of larva. Types of larvae of marine invertebrates. Hypothesis on the origin of the larvae. The primary larvae and their nervous system. Morphology of the nervous system in different animal groups. Techniques for the morpho-molecular study of the nervous system. Diffuse and centralized nervous systems. Types of brains. Types of nerve cords. The nervous system of deuterostomes: echinoderms, hemichordates, tunicates, cephalochordates and vertebrates. Acquisition of neurogenic potential. Neural induction in amphibians: the organizer. Neural induction in invertebrate chordates. Vertebrate neural induction beyond the default model. Searching for an organizer in cnidarians. The steps of neurogenesis. Neurogenesis in Drosophila: proneural genes, lateral inhibition, specification and differentiation of SOP and neuroblasts. Neurogenesis in vertebrates. Neurogenesis in cnidarians. Neurogenesis in hemichordates and cephalochordates. Considerations on the evolution of neurogenesis. Anteroposterior patterning of the vertebrate central nervous system: the activator-transformer model, secondary organizers, retinoic acid and the Hox code. Anteroposterior patterning of the cephalochordate neural tube and evolutionary origin of the vertebrate nervous system. Mediolateral patterning of the vertebrate nervous system: the search for a Notch-dependent proliferative zone in the neural tube of lamprey and amphioxus. Evolutionary origin of vertebrate spinal cord complexity. Dorsoventral patterning of the vertebrate central nervous system. Evolution of hedgehog-dependent neural patterning in chordates. Analysis of the hypothesis of the convergent evolution of the nerve cords of the bilaterians. The new head hypothesis to explain the origin of vertebrates. The neural plate border of vertebrates. Neural crest: regionalization, produced cell types and gene regulatory network. Cranial placodes: regionalization and cell types produced. Search for homologues of neural crests and cranial placodes in invertebrate chordates. The hypothesis on the common evolutionary origin of cranial placodes and neural crests. Evolution of the neural crests of vertebrates. Elementary nervous systems and the origin of neurons. Interaction with the environment in metazoans without a nervous system: sponges and placozoans. Hypotheses on the origin of the nervous system: cellular perspectives and tissue perspectives compared. Single-cell RNA sequencing and evolution of neural cell types. Analysis of neural cell types in cnidarians. Search for proto-neurons in sponges: the neuroid cells of Spongilla. RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY All the PowerPoint presentations of the course and other teaching materials will be available on AulaWeb. The teaching material is provided in English. Parts of the following textbooks can be used as a reference for the preparation of the exam: Wolpert, Tickle, Martinez Arias. Principles of Development (6th ed.). Oxford University Press – Italian edition: Wolpert, Tickle, Martinez Arias. Biologia dello Sviluppo (2a ed.). Zanichelli Gilbert, Barresi. Developmental Biology (11th ed.). Sinauer Associates Inc. – Italian edition: Gilbert, Barresi. Biologia dello Sviluppo (5a ed.). Zanichelli TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD MATTEO BOZZO Ricevimento: By appointment, upon contacting the Lecturer by e-mail: matteo.bozzo@unige.it LESSONS LESSONS START The lessons will start in March 2025. For timetables of the lectures and laboratories please consult the following link:https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/. Class schedule EVOLUTIONARY NEUROBIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT EXAMS EXAM DESCRIPTION Oral examination. It is possible that emergency situations prevent the exam from being carried out in attendance. In this case, the exam might be conducted online using the Microsoft Teams platform. For cases with certification of DSA, disability or other special educational needs, the University legislation and regulations on disability and DSA apply (https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/studenti-disabilit%C3% A0-normative). See also the "Further information" section of this page. ASSESSMENT METHODS The exam is aimed at assessing the knowledge of the fundamental elements of the subject and the ability to connect the various topics. The oral exam will focus on the topics covered during the frontal lessons and will aim to evaluate both the correct understanding of the topics and the student's ability to apply what has been acquired. The student must be able to connect and integrate the knowledge learned during the course. The commission will also evaluate the ability to present the arguments clearly and with correct terminology. With these methods, the commission will be able to verify with high accuracy the achievement of the educational objectives of the course. When these are not achieved, the student is invited to deepen the study and to make use of further explanations from the Teacher. It is possible that emergency situations prevent the exam from being carried out in attendance. In this case, the exam might be conducted online using the Microsoft Teams platform. FURTHER INFORMATION In case of certification of a specific learning disability, disability or other special educational needs, please contact both the Department contact person (Prof. Sara Ferrando) and the lecturer at the beginning of the lectures to agree on teaching and exam methods which, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory/dispensatory tools recognized by the University SLD Student Service.