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Peer-reviewedCC BYPLoS Biology

A single-cell transcriptomic atlas reveals the emergence of medusa-specific cell states in the scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea

  • Oliver Link1
  • Stefan M. Jahnel2
  • Kristin Janicek1
  • Daniel Guerguerian1
  • Johanna Kraus1
  • Juan D. Montenegro1
  • Bob Zimmermann1
  • Brittney D Wick3
  • Konstantin Khalturin4,5
  • Alison G. Cole1
  • Ulrich Technau1,6
6 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna
  2. 2Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Dr.-Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna
  3. 3UCSC Cellbrowser, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
  4. 4Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology (ICOB), Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Section 2, Nangang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan R.O.C
  5. 5Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
  6. 6Research platform Single Cell Regulation of Stem Cells, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna
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Abstract

The life cycle of most medusozoan cnidarians is marked by the metagenesis from the asexually reproducing sessile polyp and the sexually reproducing motile medusa. At present, it is unknown to what extent this drastic morphological transformation is accompanied by molecular changes in the cell type composition. Here, we provide a single-cell transcriptome atlas of the cosmopolitan scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea focusing on changes in individual cell states during the transition from polyp to medusa. Notably, this transition is marked by an increase in cell type diversity, including an expansion of neural subtypes and the appearance of striated muscles. We find that two families of neuronal lineages are specified by homologous transcription factors in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis and A. coerulea, suggesting an origin in the common ancestor of medusozoans and anthozoans about 500 Myr ago. Our analysis suggests that gene duplications might be drivers for the increase of cellular complexity during the evolution of cnidarian neuroglandular lineages and highlights the close relationship of neurons and muscles. One key medusozoan-specific cell type is the striated muscle in the subumbrella. Evaluating muscle types by fiber anatomy and gene expression validation of their individual molecular profiles made it possible for the first time to investigate transcriptome differences between smooth and striated muscles. Although smooth and striated muscles are phenotypically different, both have a similar regulation of the contractile complex, reminiscent to the regulation of smooth muscles in bilaterians. This contrasts with bilaterian striated muscles, where the regulation of muscle contraction involves Ca2+ binding troponins and their interaction with Tropomyosin. These data suggest that smooth muscle contraction regulation is ancestral and the use of troponins in striated muscles only evolved in bilaterians.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{link2026singlecell,
  title = {{A single-cell transcriptomic atlas reveals the emergence of medusa-specific cell states in the scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea}},
  author = {Oliver Link and Stefan M. Jahnel and Kristin Janicek and Daniel Guerguerian and Johanna Kraus and Juan D. Montenegro and Bob Zimmermann and Brittney D Wick and Konstantin Khalturin and Alison G. Cole and Ulrich Technau},
  journal = {PLoS Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3003931},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003931},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - A single-cell transcriptomic atlas reveals the emergence of medusa-specific cell states in the scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea
AU  - Oliver Link
AU  - Stefan M. Jahnel
AU  - Kristin Janicek
AU  - Daniel Guerguerian
AU  - Johanna Kraus
AU  - Juan D. Montenegro
AU  - Bob Zimmermann
AU  - Brittney D Wick
AU  - Konstantin Khalturin
AU  - Alison G. Cole
AU  - Ulrich Technau
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/14
JO  - PLoS Biology
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003931
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003931
AB  - The life cycle of most medusozoan cnidarians is marked by the metagenesis from the asexually reproducing sessile polyp and the sexually reproducing motile medusa. At present, it is unknown to what extent this drastic morphological transformation is accompanied by molecular changes in the cell type composition. Here, we provide a single-cell transcriptome atlas of the cosmopolitan scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea focusing on changes in individual cell states during the transition from polyp to medusa. Notably, this transition is marked by an increase in cell type diversity, including an expansion of neural subtypes and the appearance of striated muscles. We find that two families of neuronal lineages are specified by homologous transcription factors in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis and A. coerulea, suggesting an origin in the common ancestor of medusozoans and anthozoans about 500 Myr ago. Our analysis suggests that gene duplications might be drivers for the increase of cellular complexity during the evolution of cnidarian neuroglandular lineages and highlights the close relationship of neurons and muscles. One key medusozoan-specific cell type is the striated muscle in the subumbrella. Evaluating muscle types by fiber anatomy and gene expression validation of their individual molecular profiles made it possible for the first time to investigate transcriptome differences between smooth and striated muscles. Although smooth and striated muscles are phenotypically different, both have a similar regulation of the contractile complex, reminiscent to the regulation of smooth muscles in bilaterians. This contrasts with bilaterian striated muscles, where the regulation of muscle contraction involves Ca2+ binding troponins and their interaction with Tropomyosin. These data suggest that smooth muscle contraction regulation is ancestral and the use of troponins in striated muscles only evolved in bilaterians.
SN  - 1544-9173
SN  - 1545-7885
ER  -