Ancient Somatosensory Circuit Architectures Employ Flexible Molecular Strategies
- 1NYU School of Medicine
Abstract
The extent to which conserved neural circuit architectures depend on shared molecular specification programs remains unclear. Here, we address this question by examining the somatosensory system of the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, an early-diverging vertebrate that retains ancestral features of both finned and limb-based body plans. We show that core features of somatosensory circuit organization, including laminar organization of the spinal cord and dorsally restricted targeting of sensory afferents, are deeply conserved. Unexpectedly, the molecular programs specifying dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory subtypes diverge extensively from those of mammals. Although DRG neuron subtype specification and spinal connectivity rely on target-derived cues, skates employ distinct neurotrophin receptor and transcription factor identity codes. These findings support a model in which conserved spinal circuit architectures provide a stable scaffold that leverages flexible sensory neuron specification programs, enabling the evolutionary diversification of vertebrate somatosensory systems.
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BibTeX
@misc{lee2026ancient,
title = {{Ancient Somatosensory Circuit Architectures Employ Flexible Molecular Strategies}},
author = {H. Lee and P. W. Frazel and E. Singer-Freeman and A. E. Cavanagh and H. D. Shin and K. Rice and S. Selvaraj and M. Alu and H. Kim and C. Loomis and S. A. Liddelow and M. Baek and J. S. Dasen},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.25.747052},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.25.747052v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Ancient Somatosensory Circuit Architectures Employ Flexible Molecular Strategies
AU - H. Lee
AU - P. W. Frazel
AU - E. Singer-Freeman
AU - A. E. Cavanagh
AU - H. D. Shin
AU - K. Rice
AU - S. Selvaraj
AU - M. Alu
AU - H. Kim
AU - C. Loomis
AU - S. A. Liddelow
AU - M. Baek
AU - J. S. Dasen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/25
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.25.747052
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.25.747052v1
AB - The extent to which conserved neural circuit architectures depend on shared molecular specification programs remains unclear. Here, we address this question by examining the somatosensory system of the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, an early-diverging vertebrate that retains ancestral features of both finned and limb-based body plans. We show that core features of somatosensory circuit organization, including laminar organization of the spinal cord and dorsally restricted targeting of sensory afferents, are deeply conserved. Unexpectedly, the molecular programs specifying dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory subtypes diverge extensively from those of mammals. Although DRG neuron subtype specification and spinal connectivity rely on target-derived cues, skates employ distinct neurotrophin receptor and transcription factor identity codes. These findings support a model in which conserved spinal circuit architectures provide a stable scaffold that leverages flexible sensory neuron specification programs, enabling the evolutionary diversification of vertebrate somatosensory systems.
ER -