Epibranchial ganglia orchestrate the development of the cranial neurogenic crest.
The wiring of the nervous system arises from extensive directional migration of neuronal cell bodies and growth of processes that, somehow, end up forming functional circuits. Thus far, this feat of biological engineering appears to rely on sequences of pathfinding decisions upon local cues, each with little relationship to the anatomical and physiological outcome. Here, we uncover a straightforward cellular mechanism for circuit building whereby a neuronal type directs the development of its future partners. We show that visceral afferents of the head (that innervate taste buds) provide a scaffold for the establishment of visceral efferents (that innervate salivatory glands and blood vessels). In embryological terms, sensory neurons derived from an epibranchial placode--that we show to develop largely independently from the neural crest--guide the directional outgrowth of hindbrain visceral motoneurons and control the formation of neural crest-derived parasympathetic ganglia.
Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR8197, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1024, 75005 Paris, France.
Eva
E
Coppola
Murielle
M
Rallu
Juliette
J
Richard
Sylvie
S
Dufour
Dieter
D
Riethmacher
François
F
Guillemot
Christo
C
Goridis
Jean-François
JF
Brunet
D000818:Animals; D001934:Branchial Region / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005724:Ganglia / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C109220:NBPhox protein; C491060:Phox2a protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors