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Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lowe, CJ; Wray, GA
Published in: Nature
October 1997

Echinoderms possess one of the most highly derived body architectures of all metazoan phyla, with radial symmetry, a calcitic endoskeleton, and a water vascular system. How these dramatic morphological changes evolved has been the subject of extensive speculation and debate, but remains unresolved. Because echinoderms are closely related to chordates and postdate the protostome/deuterostome divergence, they must have evolved from bilaterally symmetrical ancestors. Here we report the expression domains in echinoderms of three important developmental regulatory genes (distal-less, engrailed and orthodenticle), all of which encode transcription factors that contain a homeodomain. Our findings show that the reorganization of body architecture involved extensive changes in the deployment and roles of homeobox genes. These changes include modifications in the symmetry of expression domains and the evolution of several new developmental roles, as well as the loss of roles conserved between arthropods and chordates. Some of these modifications seem to have evolved very early in the history of echinoderms, whereas others probably evolved during the subsequent diversification of adult and larval morphology. These results demonstrate the evolutionary lability of regulatory genes that are widely viewed as conservative.

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Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

October 1997

Volume

389

Issue

6652

Start / End Page

718 / 721

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Genes, Regulator
  • Genes, Homeobox
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gene Expression
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Echinodermata
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Body Patterning
 

Citation

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Lowe, C. J., & Wray, G. A. (1997). Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution. Nature, 389(6652), 718–721. https://doi.org/10.1038/39580
Lowe, C. J., and G. A. Wray. “Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution.Nature 389, no. 6652 (October 1997): 718–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/39580.
Lowe CJ, Wray GA. Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution. Nature. 1997 Oct;389(6652):718–21.
Lowe, C. J., and G. A. Wray. “Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution.Nature, vol. 389, no. 6652, Oct. 1997, pp. 718–21. Epmc, doi:10.1038/39580.
Lowe CJ, Wray GA. Radical alterations in the roles of homeobox genes during echinoderm evolution. Nature. 1997 Oct;389(6652):718–721.
Journal cover image

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

October 1997

Volume

389

Issue

6652

Start / End Page

718 / 721

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Genes, Regulator
  • Genes, Homeobox
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gene Expression
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Echinodermata
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Body Patterning