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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Identification of Novel Genes Associated with Alginate Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using Mini-himar1 Mariner Transposon-mediated Mutagenesis

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Published on: March 10, 2014

Sipunculan ParaHox genes.

D E Ferrier¹, P W Holland

¹School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, UK.

Evolution & Development

|August 2, 2001

Summary

The ParaHox gene cluster, a paralogue of the Hox gene cluster, was found in Sipuncula, a protostome. This discovery confirms all three ParaHox genes were present in the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes.

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Genomics

Background:

The Hox gene cluster's evolution is central to understanding animal development.
The discovery of the ParaHox gene cluster in amphioxus suggested a shared ancestry with Hox genes.
Previously, all three ParaHox genes were only identified in deuterostomes, posing an evolutionary puzzle.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the presence of ParaHox genes in protostome species.
To determine if the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes possessed all three ParaHox genes.
To understand the evolutionary conservation of ParaHox genes in bilaterians.

Main Methods:

Cloning of all three ParaHox genes (Gsx, Xlox, Cdx) from two species of the phylum Sipuncula.

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Comparative genomics analysis to infer ancestral gene content.

Main Results:

Successfully cloned all three ParaHox genes from Sipuncula species.
This marks the first identification of all three ParaHox genes in a protostome genome.
The findings confirm the presence of ParaHox genes in the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes.

Conclusions:

The common ancestor of bilaterians (protostomes and deuterostomes) possessed all three ParaHox genes.
ParaHox genes have been functionally conserved across protostome and deuterostome lineages due to their importance.
This research reshapes our understanding of early animal evolution and gene cluster evolution.