Endoreplication: a molecular trick during animal neuron evolution.
The occurrence of endoreplication has been repeatedly reported in many organisms, including protists, plants, worms, arthropods, molluscs, fishes, and mammals. As a general rule, cells possessing endoreplicated genomes are large-sized and highly metabolically active. Endoreplication has not been frequently reported in neuronal cells that are typically considered to be fully differentiated and non-dividing, and which normally contain a diploid genome. Despite this general statement, various papers indicate that giant neurons in molluscs, as well as supramedullary and hypothalamic magnocellular neurons in fishes, contain DNA amounts larger than 2C. In order to study this issue in greater detail here, we review the available data about endoreplication in invertebrate and vertebrate neurons, and discuss its possible functional significance. As a whole, endoreplication seems to be a sort of molecular trick used by neurons in response to the high functional demands that they experience during evolution.
Mandrioli
Mauro
M
Department of Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy. mauro.mandrioli@unimo.it
Mola
Lucrezia
L
Cuoghi
Barbara
B
Sonetti
Dario
D
D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002455:Cell Division; D016678:Genome; D006238:Haploidy; D008322:Mammals; D008974:Mollusca; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*