Cnidaria is considered a basally branching metazoan phylum containing animals with nerves and muscles, placing them in a unique position for understanding the evolution of animal development and physiology1,2. Cnidarians are categorized into two main groups: Anthozoa (e.g., sea anemones and corals) possess only planula larvae and sessile polyp stages, while Medusozoa (members of Hydrozoa, Staurozoa, Scyphozoa, and Cubozoa) typically take the form of free-swimming medusae, or jellyfish, as well as planula larvae and polyps. Cnidarians commonly exhibit high regenerative capacity, and their underlying cellular mechanisms, particularly their possession of adult stem cells and proliferative cells, have attracted much attention3,4. Initially identified in Hydra, hydrozoan stem cells are located in the interstitial spaces between ectodermal epithelial cells and are commonly referred to as interstitial cells or i-cells3.
Hydrozoan i-cells share common characteristics that include multipotency, the expression of widely conserved stem cell markers (e.g., Nanos, Piwi, Vasa), and migration potential3,5,6,7,8. As functional stem cells, i-cells are extensively involved in the development, physiology, and environmental responses of hydrozoan animals, which attests to their high regenerative capacity and plasticity3. While stem cells, similar to i-cells, have not been identified outside of hydrozoans, even in the established model species Nematostella, proliferative cells are still involved in the maintenance and regeneration of somatic tissue, as well as the germ line9. As studies in cnidarian development and regeneration have been predominantly conducted on polyp-type animals such as Hydra, Hydractinia, and Nematostella, the cellular dynamics and functions of stem cells in jellyfish species remain largely unaddressed.
The hydrozoan jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica, a cosmopolitan jellyfish species with different habitats around the world, including the Mediterranean Sea and North America, has been utilized as an experimental model animal in several developmental and evolutionary studies10. With its small size, easy handling, and large eggs, Clytia is suitable for lab maintenance, as well as for the introduction of genetic tools such as the recently established transgenesis and knockout methods11, opening up the opportunity for detailed analysis of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying jellyfish biology. In the Clytia medusa tentacle, i-cells are localized in the proximal region, called the bulb, and progenitors such as nematoblasts migrate to the distal tip while differentiating into distinct cell types, including nematocytes12.
During regeneration of the Clytia manubrium, the oral organ of jellyfish, Nanos1+ i-cells that are present in the gonads migrate to the region where the manubrium is lost in response to damage and participate in the regeneration of the manubrium7. These findings support the idea that i-cells in Clytia also behave as functional stem cells that are involved in morphogenesis and regeneration. However, given that the properties of i-cells differ among representative polyp-type animals such as Hydra and Hydractinia3, it is possible that the characteristics and functions of stem cells are diversified among jellyfish species. Furthermore, with the exception of Clytia, experimental techniques have been limited for other jellyfish, and the detailed dynamics of proliferative cells and stem cells are unknown13.
The hydrozoan jellyfish Cladonema pacificum is an emerging model organism that can be kept in a laboratory environment without a water pump or filtration system. The Cladonema medusa has branched tentacles, a common characteristic in the Cladonematidae family, and a photoreceptor organ called the ocellus on the ectodermal layer near the bulb14. The tentacle branching process occurs at a new branching site that appears along the adaxial side of the tentacle. Over time, the tentacles continue to elongate and branch, with the older branches being pushed out toward the tip15. In addition, Cladonema tentacles can regenerate within a few days upon amputation. Recent studies have suggested the role of proliferating cells and stem-like cells in tentacle branching and regeneration in Cladonema16,17. However, while conventional in situ hybridization (ISH) has been utilized to visualize gene expression in Cladonema, due to its low resolution, it is currently difficult to observe stem cell dynamics at the cellular level in detail.
This paper describes a method for visualizing stem-like cells in Cladonema by FISH and co-staining with EdU, a marker of cell proliferation18. We visualize the expression pattern of Nanos1, a stem cell marker5,17, by FISH, which allows for the identification of stem-like cell distribution at the single-cell level. In addition, the co-staining of Nanos1 expression with EdU labeling makes it possible to distinguish actively proliferating stem-like cells. This method for monitoring both stem-like cells and proliferative cells can be applied to a wide range of investigative areas, including tentacle branching, tissue homeostasis, and organ regeneration in Cladonema, and a similar approach can be applied to other jellyfish species.