Nematode Midgut - The Unique Multifunctional Body Unit

The nervous system coordinates whole body behaviour and transmits signals between its different parts, while the intestine is the main digestive system for most multicellular organisms. However, due to evolution mutes, nematodes acquired unusual 'neuronal' functions for intestinal enterocytes. Along with food processing, nutrient extracting, and transferring them to other tissues, endodermal nematode cells can regulate the activity of different body systems, respond to changes in the internal and external environment, and even control the complex programmed entire organism death mechanism. The defaecation motor programme of nematodes is a rhythmical behaviour that is perfectly timed, and intestinal cells transmit timing information among themselves and target tissues that execute rhythmic outputs. In this work, we analyse open data of Caenorhabditis elegans single-cell RNA-seq to check genes commonly involved in neuronal signal transmission activity. Our results show that the nematode intestine possesses some parts of neuronal presynaptic machinery, and we propose extra evidence of nematode intestine to neuron similarity.