Henkel C. V., Burgerhout E., de Wijze D. L., Dirks R. P., Minegishi Y., Jansen H. J., Spaink H. P., Dufour Sylvie, Weltzien F. A., Tsukamoto K., van den Thillart G. E. E. J. M. (2012). Primitive duplicate hox clusters in the European eel's genome. Plos One, 7 (2), p. e32231. ISSN 1932-6203.
Titre du document
Primitive duplicate hox clusters in the European eel's genome
Année de publication
2012
Auteurs
Henkel C. V., Burgerhout E., de Wijze D. L., Dirks R. P., Minegishi Y., Jansen H. J., Spaink H. P., Dufour Sylvie, Weltzien F. A., Tsukamoto K., van den Thillart G. E. E. J. M.
Source
Plos One, 2012,
7 (2), p. e32231 ISSN 1932-6203
The enigmatic life cycle and elongated body of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L., 1758) have long motivated scientific enquiry. Recently, eel research has gained in urgency, as the population has dwindled to the point of critical endangerment. We have assembled a draft genome in order to facilitate advances in all provinces of eel biology. Here, we use the genome to investigate the eel's complement of the Hox developmental transcription factors. We show that unlike any other teleost fish, the eel retains fully populated, duplicate Hox clusters, which originated at the teleost-specific genome duplication. Using mRNA-sequencing and in situ hybridizations, we demonstrate that all copies are expressed in early embryos. Theories of vertebrate evolution predict that the retention of functional, duplicate Hox genes can give rise to additional developmental complexity, which is not immediately apparent in the adult. However, the key morphological innovation elsewhere in the eel's life history coincides with the evolutionary origin of its Hox repertoire.
Plan de classement
Limnologie biologique / Océanographie biologique [034]
Description Géographique
ATLANTIQUE ; NOUVELLE ZELANDE ; PAYS BAS
Identifiant IRD
PAR00008810
