ArticleScience advances2026
A 3D amphioxus brain atlas illuminates the blueprint of the ancestral chordate brain and highlights unique vertebrate innovations.
Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Reassessing forebrain organization: recent evidence challenges the prosomere model.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2026Review
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9 authors.
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Abstract
Comparative studies of vertebrate brains have elucidated the evolution of morphological diversity; yet, the fundamental chordate brain blueprint and the emergence of vertebrate-specific innovations remain elusive. To reconstruct the cellular and molecular origins of brain architecture in chordates, we combined single-nucleus RNA sequencing with spatial transcriptomics to generate a three-dimensional cell atlas of the central nervous system (CNS) in the early-branching chordate amphioxus. This atlas reveals a tripartite anterior-posterior organization comprising a rostral retinal/hypothalamic region, a di-mesencephalic domain, and a caudal hindbrain/spinal cord. Challenging previous views, we identify cell clusters resembling the vertebrate zona limitans intrathalamica and midbrain-hindbrain boundary regions that demarcate major brain compartments. Conversely, the absence of telencephalic marker expression in the amphioxus rostral forebrain suggests that the telencephalon is a vertebrate innovation. Collectively, our findings establish a spatial transcriptomic framework for the amphioxus CNS, providing crucial insight into the evolutionary origins of vertebrate brain complexity.
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