Molecular pathways of learning in the single-celled ciliate <em>Stentor coeruleus</em>

How can a single cell learn without a brain? Although learning and memory are often viewed as unique features of animals with complex nervous systems, single-celled organisms also demonstrate basic forms of learning and memory. The giant single cell Stentor coeruleus responds to mechanical stimuli by contracting into a compact shape. When a Stentor cell is repeatedly stimulated at a constant level of force, it will habituate and learn to ignore that stimulus but will still respond to stronger stimuli. Here, we explored the molecular changes that occur during the formation of this cellular memory in order to improve our understanding of non-synaptic learning. RNA sequencing identified candidate proteins and genes that change over the course of learning and forgetting. These candidates point towards the regulation of Stentor learning by calcium signaling and protein phosphorylation. Ultimately, these findings shed light on the origins of intelligence independent of complex multicellular c..., , # Molecular pathways of learning in the single-celled ciliate *Stentor coeruleus* Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgrm](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgrm) ## Description of the data and file structure *Stentor coeruleus* is a model for studying learning in single cells because they undergo habituation after training with mechanical stimuli. We performed RNA sequencing on trained and untrained cells to identify transcriptomic changes during the process of unicellular learning. Annotation information can be found on https://stentor.ciliate.org/ We did experiments on monoculture cells, which were sourced from the same subculture of *Stentor coeruleus* cells, as well as experiments on polyculture cells, which were sourced from different subcultures. The monoculture data are in the individual files with the \"monoculture\" descriptor, while the polyculture cell data are located in the \"rna_exp2\" zip folder. Details about naming conventions and sample descriptions are included below ..., ,单个细胞如何在不具备大脑的条件下实现学习？尽管学习与记忆常被视作拥有复杂神经系统的动物所独有的特征，但单细胞生物同样具备基础的学习与记忆形式。巨型单细胞生物天蓝喇叭虫（Stentor coeruleus）可通过收缩为紧凑形态响应机械刺激。当以恒定力度反复刺激天蓝喇叭虫细胞时，其会产生习惯化现象，学会忽略该类刺激，但仍会对更强的刺激做出响应。本研究旨在解析该细胞记忆形成过程中的分子变化，以深化对非突触学习的理解。通过RNA测序（RNA sequencing），我们鉴定出了在学习与遗忘过程中表达水平发生改变的候选蛋白质与基因。这些候选分子提示，钙信号传导与蛋白质磷酸化参与调控天蓝喇叭虫的学习过程。本研究最终揭示了独立于复杂多细胞……的智能起源…… # 单细胞纤毛虫天蓝喇叭虫（Stentor coeruleus）的学习分子通路 数据集DOI：[10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgrm](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgrm) ## 数据与文件结构说明 天蓝喇叭虫（Stentor coeruleus）是研究单细胞学习的模式生物，因其在接受机械刺激训练后会产生习惯化现象。本研究通过对经训练与未经训练的细胞进行RNA测序，以鉴定单细胞学习过程中的转录组变化。注释信息可在https://stentor.ciliate.org/查询获取。 本研究开展了两组实验：一组使用来自同一继代培养的天蓝喇叭虫单细胞培养物（monoculture），另一组使用来自不同继代培养的混合培养物（polyculture）。单细胞培养数据存储于带有"monoculture"标识的独立文件中，而混合培养细胞数据则位于"rna_exp2"压缩文件夹内。关于命名规范与样本详情的说明详见下文……