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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
11:52
Temporal Ordering of Dynamic Expression Data from Detailed Spatial Expression Maps
Published on: February 9, 2017
The origin of digits: expression patterns versus regulatory mechanisms
Joost M Woltering1, Denis Duboule
1National Research Centre Frontiers in Genetics, Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences III, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Developmental Cell
|April 24, 2010
Summary
Understanding gene regulation is crucial in evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo). Analyzing limb evolution reveals how distinct regulatory strategies enable complex structures like arms to form coherently.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)
- Comparative Genomics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Gene expression patterns in Evo-Devo can be misleading without understanding regulatory strategies.
- Comparative analysis of developmental processes is key to understanding evolutionary changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the essential role of regulatory mechanisms in interpreting gene expression during evolution.
- To use limb evolution as a model for understanding developmental gene regulation.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of gene expression patterns in the context of limb development.
- Comparative study of regulatory strategies across different species' limb evolution.
Main Results:
- Gene expression analysis alone is insufficient without considering underlying regulatory mechanisms.
- Stepwise and distinct regulatory mechanisms are adaptively relevant for building complex structures like arms.
Conclusions:
- Understanding regulatory evolution is essential for resolving comparative developmental conundrums in Evo-Devo.
- The evolution of composite structures like arms relies on the stepwise development of distinct regulatory mechanisms for functional coherence.
Related Concept Videos
02:02Cis-regulatory Sequences
Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
02:02Cis-regulatory Sequences
Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
02:23Master Transcription Regulators
Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
02:24Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
02:24Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
Gene expression can be regulated at almost every step from gene to protein. Transcription is the step that is most commonly regulated. This involves the binding of proteins to short regulatory sequences on the DNA. This association can either promote or inhibit the transcription of a gene associated with the respective sequence.
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
02:33Combinatorial Gene Control
Combinatorial gene control is the synergistic action of several transcriptional factors to regulate the expression of a single gene. The absence of one or more of these factors may lead to a significant difference in the level of gene expression or repression.
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...
The expression of more than 30,000 genes is controlled by approximately 2000-3000 transcription factors. This is possible because a single transcription factor can recognize more than one regulatory sequence. The specificity in gene...