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Related Experiment Videos

The evolution of chordate neural segmentation.

Françoise Mazet1, Sebastian M Shimeld

  • 1School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, The University of Reading, P.O. Box 228, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AJ, United Kingdom.

Developmental Biology
|November 19, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Neural segmentation in amphioxus, a vertebrate relative, reveals early origins of brain regions and a novel model for rhombomere evolution. This suggests segmentation mechanisms predated vertebrates.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Evolutionary developmental biology
  • Comparative genomics

Background:

  • Amphioxus, a basal chordate, lacks key vertebrate features, indicating significant differences in developmental patterning.
  • Understanding amphioxus development offers insights into vertebrate origins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolution of vertebrate neural segmentation using amphioxus as a model.
  • To analyze the expression patterns of amphioxus FoxB and single-minded orthologs.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of gene expression patterns in amphioxus, specifically focusing on FoxB and single-minded orthologs.
  • Comparative analysis of gene expression domains with vertebrate neural structures.

Main Results:

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  • AmphiFoxB expression indicates cryptic segmentation in the amphioxus cerebral vesicle and hindbrain, suggesting pre-vertebrate neuromeric segmentation.
  • Proposed homology between amphioxus forebrain domains and vertebrate diencephalon/midbrain.
  • AmphiFoxB expression in the hindbrain suggests a model for rhombomere evolution involving a shift from mesodermal to retinoic acid signaling.

Conclusions:

  • Neuromeric segmentation of the chordate neural tube predates vertebrate origins.
  • Rhombomere evolution in vertebrates may have involved a transfer of segmentation mechanisms and loss of dependence on segmented mesoderm.
  • This evolutionary shift facilitated the development of unsegmented vertebrate head mesoderm.