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Tardigrade connectome reconstruction

Develop a synaptic-resolution connectome of Hypsibius exemplaris, encompassing the brain, ventral nerve cord, and limb-associated segmental ganglia, to enable circuit-level analysis of locomotion, sensory integration, and state transitions.

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Background

A connectome provides the wiring diagram necessary to link structure to function. The paper notes that no tardigrade connectome exists, leaving a critical gap for systems-level studies.

An EM-based connectome of Hypsibius exemplaris would facilitate comparative insights with existing connectomes from Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila, and help dissect modular ganglia contributions to gait control and taxis.

References

The anatomical and functional mapping of the tardigrade nervous system is in its infancy: the exact number of neurons in any tardigrade life-history stage remains unknown, neuronal identities and types have not been established, their connectome has yet to be reconstructed, and the mechanisms underlying the animal's fascinating neurobiology, such as neuronal resilience and repair, remain unexplored (see Table 1 for current neuroanatomical knowledge).

— The tardigrade as an emerging model organism for systems neuroscience (2501.06606 - Lyons et al., 11 Jan 2025) in Introduction