Gene regulatory network involved in the formation of central nervous system in ascidian embryos

尽管只有大约350个细胞，但海蛸幼虫的中枢神经系统（CNS）的结构与脊椎动物的中枢神经系统相似。为了鉴定在中枢神经系统中表达的基因，我们使用转基因胚胎分离中枢神经系统细胞，这些胚胎在幼虫中枢神经系统中表现出强烈的Kaede表达。在微阵列的帮助下，我们鉴定了565个在中枢神经系统中优先表达的基因。此外，通过对具有特定基因表达的细胞进行追踪和对这些基因的功能分析，我们发现了一些参与幼虫中枢神经系统形成的基因调控网络。

Despite containing only approximately 350 cells, the central nervous system (CNS) of Ciona intestinalis larvae has an architecture that is similar to the vertebrate CNS. To identify genes expressed in the CNS, we isolated CNS cells using transgenic embryos that showed robust Kaede expression in the larval CNS. With the aid of microarray, we identified 565 genes that are preferentially expressed in the CNS. In addition, tracing cells with specific gene expression and functional analyses of the genes resulted in several discoveries of the gene regulatory network involved in the formation of the Ciona larval CNS.