Exotic creatures called comb jellies may completely reshape how scientists view early evolution, since their genes suggest nature create more than one way to make a nervous system.
In an article published this week, researcher Leonid Moroz and his colleagues decoded the genomic blueprints for 10 ctenophore (comb jelly) species, an analysis that indicates these sea creatures form the first branch on the animal kingdom's Tree of Life.
Ctenophores independently create complex organs, muscles, behaviors and neurons that are more sophisticated than sponges, according to a University of Florida press release.
The discovery would reclassify comb jellies and implies that there are many different ways to "make an animal" with muscular and neural systems, according to Moroz.
"This paper is also distinct from other studies because it, for the first time, unites microchemical and physiological approaches to validate genomic predictions," said Moroz, a distinguished professor of neuroscience, genetics, chemistry and biology in the UF College of Medicine, McKnight Brain Institute and the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Biosciences, according to the release. "By revealing the unique molecular make-up of major features - the development, immune system, nerves and muscles - I can honestly introduce you to the aliens of the sea.
"If you met an alien you would assume it is radically different from us," Moroz added. "There is no need to wait - these aliens are in our backyard."
The paper was published in the May 21 edition of the journal Nature. The article summarizes a nearly seven-year adventure around the globe.
Scientists have found that comb jellies have a unique nervous system different from the entire animal kingdom. They are also able to create a nervous system by using their own biological system, according to Moroz.
Comb jellies don't use serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine or most other neural transmitters that control brain activity in other animals. Instead they use an array of peptides and glutamate neural signaling, a diverse array of electrical synapses, and genetic editing according to the release.
The animals have a single ancestry, and now the scientists are attempting to determine how they gradually transformed to become a more complex creature, according to the release.
"It's almost like evolution has given us two different blueprints for building a structure that's very important. If your goal is to make a nervous system, it doesn't matter what the parts are in some ways. You could potentially mix and match. The more parts you have, the more solutions." said Antonis Rokas, a biologist from Vanderbilt University, who was not involved in the new work.
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