Cephalopod Hox genes and the origin of morphological novelties
Autor: | Patricia N. Lee, Mark Q. Martindale, Heinz Gert de Couet, Patrick Callaerts |
---|---|
Rok vydání: | 2003 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Cuttlefish Euprymna scolopes Molecular Sequence Data Lophotrochozoa 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences Animals RNA Messenger Hox gene Mollusca In Situ Hybridization Body Patterning 030304 developmental biology Genetics 0303 health sciences Multidisciplinary biology Genes Homeobox Brain Gene Expression Regulation Developmental biology.organism_classification Bobtail squid Cephalopod Body plan |
Zdroj: | Nature, 424 (6952). pp. 1061-1065. |
Popis: | Cephalopods are a diverse group of highly derived molluscs, including nautiluses, squids, octopuses and cuttlefish. Evolution of the cephalopod body plan from a monoplacophoran-like ancestor1 entailed the origin of several key morphological innovations contributing to their impressive evolutionary success2. Recruitment of regulatory genes3, or even pre-existing regulatory networks4, may be a common genetic mechanism for generating new structures. Hox genes encode a family of transcriptional regulatory proteins with a highly conserved role in axial patterning in bilaterians5; however, examples highlighting the importance of Hox gene recruitment for new developmental functions are also known6,7. Here we examined developmental expression patterns for eight out of nine Hox genes8 in the Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes, by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Our data show that Hox orthologues have been recruited multiple times and in many ways in the origin of new cephalopod structures. The manner in which these genes have been co-opted during cephalopod evolution provides insight to the nature of the molecular mechanisms driving morphological change in the Lophotrochozoa, a clade exhibiting the greatest diversity of body plans in the Metazoa. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
Externí odkaz: |