Notochord-Neuron interaction during the chordate evolution.

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The midline organ notochord and its overlying dorsal neural tube are the most prominent features of the chordate body plan. Although molecular mechanisms involved in the dorsal patterning of the nervous system have been studied extensively in vertebrate embryos, none of the genes that are expressed specifically in notochord cells have been shown to function in this process. Here, we report a gene in the urochordate Ciona intestinalis encoding a fibrinogen-like protein that plays a pivotal role in the notochord-dependent dorsal positioning of neuronal cells. Therefore, it is highly likely that the interaction of the notochord-based fibrinogen-like protein and the neural tube-based Notch signaling is essential for the dorsal patterning of the nervous system or for the establishment of the chordate body plan.