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Characterization of two Dscam orthologues in Hirudo medicinalis

Abstract

Dscam is a transmembrane protein of the Ig superfamily that has been shown to play critical roles in the developing nervous system. Its known functions include isoneuronal dendritic and axonal self-avoidance, heteroneuronal avoidance in a process called "tiling", heteroneuronal synapse formation, and axon guidance. The importance of Dscam is further demonstrated by its high degree of sequence, structural and functional conservation in organisms across several phyla, including chordates, mollusks, platyhelminthes and arthropods. In arthropods, the Dscam gene is alternatively spliced and can create tens of thousands of isoforms, which are used for neuronal identity and may also serve a novel form of adaptive immune function. This ability to create multiple isoforms is not seen in chordates and mollusks. Here, we report on two Dscam orthologues that we have found in the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis), which belongs to the annelid phylum. Both Dscam's are expressed in nervous tissue, indicating a conservation of neural function, but they do not appear to be alternatively spliced, thus placing the annelids with the chordates and mollusks in terms of Dscam structure

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