Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Genotyping of Sea Anemone during Early Development
Published on: May 13, 2019
The early ANTP gene repertoire: insights from the placozoan genome
Bernd Schierwater1, Kai Kamm, Mansi Srivastava
1Division of Ecology and Evolution, Stiftung Tieraerztliche Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Abstract:
The evolution of ANTP genes in the Metazoa has been the subject of conflicting hypotheses derived from full or partial gene sequences and genomic organization in higher animals. Whole genome sequences have recently filled in some crucial gaps for the basal metazoan phyla Cnidaria and Porifera. Here we analyze the complete genome of Trichoplax adhaerens, representing the basal metazoan phylum Placozoa, for its set of ANTP class genes. The Trichoplax genome encodes representatives of Hox/ParaHox-like, NKL, and extended Hox genes. This repertoire possibly mirrors the condition of a hypothetical cnidarian-bilaterian ancestor. The evolution of the cnidarian and bilaterian ANTP gene repertoires can be deduced by a limited number of cis-duplications of NKL and "extended Hox" genes and the presence of a single ancestral "ProtoHox" gene.
Related Concept Videos
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Diversity of Protists I
Comparing Mitochondrial, Chloroplast, and Prokaryotic Genomes
Evolution of Microbial Genome
Diversity of Protists II

