The functional diversification of somatosensory neuron repertoires across Mammalia
- 1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Abstract
The striking diversity of mammalian body forms and surfaces, lifestyles, and habitats prompts the question of how each species' somatosensory neuron repertoire accommodates such diversity. The visual and olfactory systems diversify by gaining and losing sensor/receptor genes and corresponding sensory cell types. Using multiomic single-cell analysis of dorsal root ganglia neurons from thirteen different mammalian species and cross-species functional studies enabled by cell-type-specific enhancer viruses, we show that mammals instead assemble species-specific, functionally distinct somatosensory neuron repertoires from a conserved set of neuron types (orthotypes). Repertoire diversification takes multiple forms: orthotype abundance scales with variable bodily traits like hair follicle density, facilitating relevant behaviors; sensor/receptor expression is shuffled across species, such that orthotypes can detect different stimuli in different species; and orthotypes split into functionally distinct, species-specific subtypes (paratypes). Thus, unlike other sensory systems, the mammalian somatosensory system diversifies through multifarious changes to conserved orthotypes, enabling adaptation to diverse habitats, lifestyles, and body forms.
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BibTeX
@misc{shuster2026functional,
title = {{The functional diversification of somatosensory neuron repertoires across Mammalia}},
author = {S. A. Shuster and J. Y. Xiao and B. Gegenhuber and S. A. Bhuiyan and M. Dai and Y. Chen and M. M. DeLisle and P. Sheng and E. Howell and M. Brecht and E. O. Gracheva and C. F. Moss and D. L. Paul and I. Abdus-Saboor and G. Fishell and W. Renthal and M. E. Greenberg and D. D. Ginty},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.19.752904},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.19.752904v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The functional diversification of somatosensory neuron repertoires across Mammalia
AU - S. A. Shuster
AU - J. Y. Xiao
AU - B. Gegenhuber
AU - S. A. Bhuiyan
AU - M. Dai
AU - Y. Chen
AU - M. M. DeLisle
AU - P. Sheng
AU - E. Howell
AU - M. Brecht
AU - E. O. Gracheva
AU - C. F. Moss
AU - D. L. Paul
AU - I. Abdus-Saboor
AU - G. Fishell
AU - W. Renthal
AU - M. E. Greenberg
AU - D. D. Ginty
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/19
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.19.752904
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.19.752904v1
AB - The striking diversity of mammalian body forms and surfaces, lifestyles, and habitats prompts the question of how each species' somatosensory neuron repertoire accommodates such diversity. The visual and olfactory systems diversify by gaining and losing sensor/receptor genes and corresponding sensory cell types. Using multiomic single-cell analysis of dorsal root ganglia neurons from thirteen different mammalian species and cross-species functional studies enabled by cell-type-specific enhancer viruses, we show that mammals instead assemble species-specific, functionally distinct somatosensory neuron repertoires from a conserved set of neuron types (orthotypes). Repertoire diversification takes multiple forms: orthotype abundance scales with variable bodily traits like hair follicle density, facilitating relevant behaviors; sensor/receptor expression is shuffled across species, such that orthotypes can detect different stimuli in different species; and orthotypes split into functionally distinct, species-specific subtypes (paratypes). Thus, unlike other sensory systems, the mammalian somatosensory system diversifies through multifarious changes to conserved orthotypes, enabling adaptation to diverse habitats, lifestyles, and body forms.
ER -