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Apoptosis as Potential Cause for Notochord Cell Loss in Molgula occulta
Abstract
The evolution of the chordate body plan is still unresolved. Notochord evolution can
be studied with two tunicates—the tailed M. oculata and the tailless M. occulta. The tailed
M. oculata has 40 notochord cells that are converged and extended. The tailless M. occulta
does not form a tail in their larval stage as it only has 20 notochord cells that have not
converged or extended. A hypothesis for the loss of notochord cells in M. occulta is that the
notochord cells are being destroyed by apoptosis (programmed cell death). In this study,
preparations for studying programmed cell death (PCD) using two genes Programmed cell
death 2 (PDCD2) and Programmed cell death interacting protein 6 (PCDIP6) were made for
in situ hybridizations. A cell death assay and in situ hybridizations will be done in the future
on a variety of developmental stages of both the tailed and tailless species to assess
differential regulation of the PCD genes. These studies elucidate if differential regulation of
PCD is potentially the cellular mechanism for the loss of a tail in M. occulta.