NF-kappa B is required for cnidocyte development in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

摘要

The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis (Nv) is a leading model organism for the phylum Cnidaria, which includes anemones, corals, jellyfishes and hydras. A defining trait across this phylum is the cnidocyte, an ectodermal cell type with a variety of functions including defense, prey capture and environmental sensing. Herein, we show that the Nv-NF-kappa B transcription factor and its inhibitor Nv-I kappa B are expressed in a subset of cnidocytes in the body column of juvenile and adult anemones. The size and distribution of the Nv-NF-kappa B-positive cnidocytes suggest that they are in a subtype known as basitrichous haplonema cnidocytes. Nv-NF-kappa B is primarily cytoplasmic in cnidocytes in juvenile and adult animals, but is nuclear when first detected in the 30-h post-fertilization embryo. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of Nv-NF-kappa B expression results in greatly reduced cnidocyte formation in the 5 day-old animal. Taken together, these results indicate that NF-kappa B plays a key role in the development of the phylum-specific cnidocyte cell type in Nematostella, likely by nuclear Nv-NF-kappa B-dependent activation of genes required for cnidocyte development. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.