Publications
2024
Allard, C.A., Herbert, A.L., Krueger, S.P., Liang, Q., Walsh, B.L., Rhyne, A., Gourlay, A., Seminara, A., Baldwin, M.W., Kingsley, D.M. and Bellono, N., 2023. Evolution of novel sensory organs in fish with legs. Current Biology
How do animals evolve new traits? Sea robins are fish that possess specialized leg-like appendages used to “walk” along the sea floor. Here, we show that legs are bona fide sense organs that localize buried prey.
2024
Herbert, A.L., Allard, C.A., McCoy, M.J., Wucherpfennig, J.I., Krueger, S.P., Chen, H.I., Gourlay, A.N., Jackson, K.D., Abbo, L.A., Bennett, S.H., Sears, J.D., Rhyne, A.L., Bellono, N.W. and Kingsley, D. M. Ancient developmental genes underlie evolutionary novelties in walking fish. Current Biology
Here, we probe the genetic basis of trait gain in sea robin fish, which have evolved specialized leg-like appendages for locomotion and digging along the ocean floor.
2023
Kang, G., Allard, C.A.H., Valencia-Montoya, W.A., van Giesen, L., Kim, J.J., Kilian, P.B., Bai, X., Bellono, N.W., Hibbs, R.E. 2023. Sensory specializations drive octopus and squid behavior. Nature, 616(7956), pp. 373-377.
Here, we show that both octopus and squid use cephalopod-specific chemotactile receptors (CRs) to sense their respective marine environments, but structural adaptations in these receptors support the sensation of specific molecules suited to distinct physiological roles. We find that squid express ancient CRs that more closely resemble related nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, while octopuses exhibit a more recent expansion in CRs consistent with their elaborated “taste by touch” sensory system.
2023
Allard, C.A.H., Kang, G., Kim, J.J., Valencia-Montoya, W.A., Hibbs, R.E., and Bellono, N.W. 2023. Structural basis of sensory receptor evolution in octopus. Nature, 616(7956), pp. 378-383.
Here, we exploit octopus CRs to probe the structural basis of sensory receptor evolution. We present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of an octopus CR and compare it with nicotinic receptors to determine features that enable environmental sensation versus neurotransmission. Evolutionary, structural, and biophysical analyses show that channel architecture involved in cation permeation and signal transduction is conserved.
2020
van Giesen, L., Kilian, P.B., Allard, C.A. and Bellono, N.W., 2020. Molecular basis of chemotactile sensation in octopus. Cell, 183(3), pp.594-604.
Here, we report that octopus arms use a family of cephalopod-specific chemotactile receptors (CRs) to detect poorly soluble natural products, thereby defining a form of contact-dependent, aquatic chemosensation.
2020
Weir, K., Dupre, C., van Giesen, L., Lee, A.S. and Bellono, N.W., 2020. A molecular filter for the cnidarian stinging response. Elife, 9, p.e57578.
Here, we show that nematocytes from Nematostella vectensis use a specialized voltage-gated calcium channel (nCaV) to distinguish salient sensory cues and control the explosive stinging response.
2020
Redhai, S., Pilgrim, C., Gaspar, P., Giesen, L.V., et al., 2020. An intestinal zinc sensor regulates food intake and developmental growth. Nature, 580(7802), pp.263-268.
Here we use a genetic screen in Drosophila melanogaster to identify Hodor, an ionotropic receptor in enterocytes that sustains larval development, particularly in nutrient-scarce conditions.
2018
Bellono, N.W., Leitch, D.B. and Julius, D., 2018. Molecular tuning of electroreception in sharks and skates. Nature, 558(7708), pp.122-126.
Here we analyse shark and skate electrosensory cells to determine whether discrete physiological properties could contribute to behaviourally relevant sensory tuning.
2017
Bellono, N.W., Bayrer, J.R., Leitch, D.B., Castro, J., Zhang, C., O’Donnell, T.A., Brierley, S.M., Ingraham, H.A. and Julius, D., 2017. Enterochromaffin cells are gut chemosensors that couple to sensory neural pathways. Cell, 170(1), pp.185-198.
We show that EC cells express specific chemosensory receptors, are electrically excitable, and modulate serotonin-sensitive primary afferent nerve fibers via synaptic connections, enabling them to detect and transduce environmental, metabolic, and homeostatic information from the gut directly to the nervous system.
2017
Bellono, N.W., Leitch, D.B. and Julius, D., 2017. Molecular basis of ancestral vertebrate electroreception. Nature, 543(7645), pp.391-396.
Here we show that the voltage-gated calcium channel CaV1.3 and the big conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel are preferentially expressed by electrosensory cells in little skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and functionally couple to mediate electrosensory cell membrane voltage oscillations, which are important for the detection of specific, weak electrical signals.
2014
Bellono, N.W., Escobar, I.E., Lefkovith, A.J., Marks, M.S. and Oancea, E., 2014. An intracellular anion channel critical for pigmentation. Elife, 3, p.e04543.
Here we used direct patch-clamp of skin and eye melanosomes to identify a novel chloride-selective anion conductance mediated by OCA2 and required for melanin production.
2013
Bellono, N.W., Kammel, L.G., Zimmerman, A.L. and Oancea, E., 2013. UV light phototransduction activates transient receptor potential A1 ion channels in human melanocytes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(6), pp.2383-2388.
Here we report that in human epidermal melanocytes physiological doses of UVR activate a retinal-dependent current mediated by transient receptor potential A1 (TRPA1) ion channels.
