Published June 7, 2021 | Version v1
Preprint Open

The Nereid on the rise: Platynereis as a model system

Creators

  • 1. Marine Biological Laboratory
  • 2. University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology
  • 3. Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter
  • 4. Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
  • 5. Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna
  • 6. Université de Paris, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod
  • 7. European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology Unit
  • 8. The Scottish Oceans Institute, Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews
  • 9. National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics
  • 10. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
  • 11. Department of Biological & Marine Sciences, Hull University
  • 12. School of Life Sciences, Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • 13. Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica
  • 14. Department for Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna
  • 15. Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour

Description

The nereid Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1833) is a marine annelid that belongs to the Nereididae, a family of errant polychaete worms. As characteristic for the superphylum of Lophotrochozoa/Spiralia, the nereid shows a pelago-benthic life cycle, with spirally-cleaving embryos developing into swimming trochophore larvae, which then metamorphose into benthic worms living in self-spun tubes on macroalgae. Platynereis is used as a model for genetics, regeneration, reproduction biology, development, evolution, chronobiology, neurobiology, ecology, ecotoxicology, and most recently also for connectomics and single cell genomics. Research on the nereid started with studies on eye development and spiralian embryogenesis in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Transitioning into the molecular era, Platynereis research focused on posterior growth and regeneration, neuroendocrinology, circadian and lunar cycles, fertilization, and oocyte maturation. Other work covered segmentation, photoreceptors and other sensory cells, nephridia, and population dynamics. Most recently, the unique advantages of the nereid young worm for whole-body volume electron microscopy and single cell sequencing became apparent, enabling the tracing of all neurons in its rope-ladder-like central nervous system, and the construction of multimodal cellular atlases. Here, we provide an overview of current topics and methodologies for P. dumerilii, with the aim of stimulating further interest into our unique model and expanding the active and vibrant Platynereis community.  

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