Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Revisiting the Origin of the Vertebrate Hox14 by Including Its Relict Sarcopterygian Members

Feiner, Nathalie LU ; Ericsson, Rolf ; Meyer, Axel and Kuraku, Shigehiro (2011) In Journal of Experimental Zoology 316B(7). p.515-525
Abstract
Bilaterian Hox genes play pivotal roles in the specification of positional identities along the anteroposterior axis. Particularly in vertebrates, their regulation is tightly coordinated by tandem arrays of genes [paralogy groups (PGs)] in four gene clusters (HoxA-D). Traditionally, the uninterrupted Hox cluster (Hox1-14) of the invertebrate chordate amphioxus was regarded as an archetype of the
vertebrate Hox clusters. In contrast to Hox1-13 that are globally regulated by the ‘‘Hox code’’ and are often phylogenetically conserved, vertebrate Hox14 members were only recently revealed to be present in an African lungfish, a coelacanth, chondrichthyans and a lamprey, and decoupled from the Hox code. In this study we performed a PCR-based... (More)
Bilaterian Hox genes play pivotal roles in the specification of positional identities along the anteroposterior axis. Particularly in vertebrates, their regulation is tightly coordinated by tandem arrays of genes [paralogy groups (PGs)] in four gene clusters (HoxA-D). Traditionally, the uninterrupted Hox cluster (Hox1-14) of the invertebrate chordate amphioxus was regarded as an archetype of the
vertebrate Hox clusters. In contrast to Hox1-13 that are globally regulated by the ‘‘Hox code’’ and are often phylogenetically conserved, vertebrate Hox14 members were only recently revealed to be present in an African lungfish, a coelacanth, chondrichthyans and a lamprey, and decoupled from the Hox code. In this study we performed a PCR-based search of Hox14 members from diverse
vertebrates, and identified one in the Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri. Based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, this gene was designated NfHoxA14. Our real-time RT-PCR suggested its hindgut-associated expression, previously observed also in cloudy catshark HoxD14 and lamprey Hox14a. It is likely that this altered expression scheme was established before the Hox cluster
quadruplication, probably at the base of extant vertebrates. To investigate the origin of vertebrate Hox14, by including this sarcopterygian Hox14 member, we performed focused phylogenetic analyses on its relationship with other vertebrate posterior Hox PGs (Hox9-13) as well as amphioxus posterior Hox genes. Our results confirmed the hypotheses previously proposed by other studies that vertebrate Hox14 does not have any amphioxus ortholog, and that none of 1-to-1 pairs of vertebrate and amphioxus posterior Hox genes, based on their relative location in the clusters, is orthologous. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Experimental Zoology
volume
316B
issue
7
pages
515 - 525
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:80054911878
ISSN
0022-104X
DOI
10.1002/jez.b.21426
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
af684d99-0164-46ba-8276-65b4ef03652e
date added to LUP
2018-05-22 21:24:00
date last changed
2022-01-31 03:34:01
@article{af684d99-0164-46ba-8276-65b4ef03652e,
  abstract     = {{Bilaterian Hox genes play pivotal roles in the specification of positional identities along the anteroposterior axis. Particularly in vertebrates, their regulation is tightly coordinated by tandem arrays of genes [paralogy groups (PGs)] in four gene clusters (HoxA-D). Traditionally, the uninterrupted Hox cluster (Hox1-14) of the invertebrate chordate amphioxus was regarded as an archetype of the<br/>vertebrate Hox clusters. In contrast to Hox1-13 that are globally regulated by the ‘‘Hox code’’ and are often phylogenetically conserved, vertebrate Hox14 members were only recently revealed to be present in an African lungfish, a coelacanth, chondrichthyans and a lamprey, and decoupled from the Hox code. In this study we performed a PCR-based search of Hox14 members from diverse<br/>vertebrates, and identified one in the Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri. Based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, this gene was designated NfHoxA14. Our real-time RT-PCR suggested its hindgut-associated expression, previously observed also in cloudy catshark HoxD14 and lamprey Hox14a. It is likely that this altered expression scheme was established before the Hox cluster<br/>quadruplication, probably at the base of extant vertebrates. To investigate the origin of vertebrate Hox14, by including this sarcopterygian Hox14 member, we performed focused phylogenetic analyses on its relationship with other vertebrate posterior Hox PGs (Hox9-13) as well as amphioxus posterior Hox genes. Our results confirmed the hypotheses previously proposed by other studies that vertebrate Hox14 does not have any amphioxus ortholog, and that none of 1-to-1 pairs of vertebrate and amphioxus posterior Hox genes, based on their relative location in the clusters, is orthologous.}},
  author       = {{Feiner, Nathalie and Ericsson, Rolf and Meyer, Axel and Kuraku, Shigehiro}},
  issn         = {{0022-104X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{515--525}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Experimental Zoology}},
  title        = {{Revisiting the Origin of the Vertebrate Hox14 by Including Its Relict Sarcopterygian Members}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.21426}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/jez.b.21426}},
  volume       = {{316B}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}