Central role of gene cooption in neural crest evolution

A bona fide neural crest is a defining feature of vertebrate embryos. Protochordate gene expression patterns indicate that neural crest evolution coincided with the cooption of several transcriptional regulators to the neural plate border of the vertebrate ancestor. Recent cell labeling experiments in ascidians suggest that cells in this domain may have been migratory and thus displayed some neural crest cell-like behavior. Taken together, these data suggest that the recruitment of new genetic pathways conferred novel developmental potentials upon the migratory neural tube cells of the prevertebrate chordate.