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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions

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Published on: February 16, 2017

Evolution of the bone gene regulatory network.

Shannon Fisher¹, Tamara Franz-Odendaal

¹Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States. sfisher4@mail.med.upenn.edu

Current Opinion in Genetics & Development

|June 6, 2012

Summary

The evolution of bone formation involves a gene regulatory network (GRN). Runx genes, key regulators of skeletogenesis, originally functioned in cartilage before their role in bone development.

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Laser Capture Microdissection of Mouse Embryonic Cartilage and Bone for Gene Expression Analysis

Laser Capture Microdissection of Mouse Embryonic Cartilage and Bone for Gene Expression Analysis

Published on: December 18, 2019

Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Developmental biology
Genetics

Background:

The gene regulatory network (GRN) controlling bone formation is crucial for skeletogenesis.
Key genes and proteins involved in bone development are well-established.
Understanding the evolutionary timeline of these genetic components is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary history of the gene regulatory network (GRN) governing bone formation.
To determine when essential genes and proteins involved in skeletogenesis evolved.
To propose a model for the segregation of GRNs in related tissues.

Main Methods:

Analysis of current fossil data.
Review of embryological evidence.
Examination of genetic data related to skeletogenesis.

Main Results:

The Runx genes, identified as master regulators of skeletogenesis, likely functioned in early cartilage development prior to their involvement in bone formation.
Two whole genome duplication events and subsequent tandem gene duplications facilitated the diversification of GRNs.
This genetic diversification led to the segregation of a single GRN into multiple networks regulating cartilage, bone, enamel, and dentin.
Runx2 became a top regulator in the bone GRN, while Sox9 was excluded from bone, maintaining its role in cartilage.

Conclusions:

The evolution of bone formation involved the gradual refinement and segregation of gene regulatory networks.
Runx genes played a foundational role in early skeletogenesis, predating their specific function in bone.
Genome duplication events were critical in providing the genetic raw material for the evolution of specialized GRNs in different skeletal tissues.