Developmental neurobiology of hydra, a model animal of cnidarians

Hydra belongs to the class Hydrozoa in the phylum Cnidaria. Hydra is a model animal whose cellular and developmental data are the most abundant among cnidarians. Hence, I discuss the developmental neurobiology of hydra. The hydra nerve net is a mosaic of neural subsets expressing a specific neural phenotype. The developmental dynamics of the nerve cells are unique. Neurons are produced continuously by differentiation from interstitial multipotent stem cells. These neurons are continuously displaced outwards along with epithelial cells and are sloughed off at the extremities. However, the spatial distribution of each neural subset is maintained. Mechanisms related to these phenomena, i.e., the position-dependent changes in neural phenotypes, are proposed. Nerve-net formation in hydra can be examined in various experimental systems. The conditions of nerve-net formation vary among the systems, so we can clarify the control factors at the cellular level by comparing nerve-net formation in different systems. By large-scale screening of peptide signal molecules, peptide molecules related to nerve-cell differentiation have been identified. The LPW family, composed of four members sharing common N-terminal L(or I)PW, inhibits nerve-cell differentiation in hydra. In contrast, Hym355 (FPQSFLPRG-NH3) activates nerve differentiation in hydra. LPWs are epitheliopeptides, whereas Hym355 is a neuropeptide. In the hypostome of hydra, a unique neuronal structure, the nerve ring, is observed. This structure shows the nerve association of neurites. Exceptionally, the tissue containing the nerve ring shows no tissue displacement during the tissue flow that involves the whole body. The neurons in the nerve ring show little turnover, although nerve cells in all other regions turn over continuously. These associations and quiet dynamics lead me to think that the nerve ring has features similar to those of the central nervous system in higher animals.