The HMGA gene family in chordates: evolutionary perspectives from amphioxus

High mobility group A proteins of vertebrates, HMGA1 and 2, are chromatin architectural factors involved in development, cell differentiation, and neoplastic transformation. Here, we characterize an amphioxus HMGA gene ortholog and analyze its expression. As a basal chordate, amphioxus is well placed to provide insights into the evolution of the HMGA gene family, particularly in the transition from invertebrates to vertebrates. Our phylogenetic analysis supports the basal position of amphioxus, echinoderm, and hemichordate HMGA sequences to those of vertebrate HMGA1 and HMGA2. Consistent with this, the genomic landscape around amphioxus HMGA shares features with both. Whole mount in situ hybridization shows that amphioxus HMGA mRNA is detectable from neurula stage onwards in both nervous and non-nervous tissues. This correlates with protein expression monitored immunocytochemically using antibodies against human HMGA2 protein, revealing especially high levels of expression in cells of the lamellar body, the amphioxus homolog of the pineal, suggesting that the gene may have, among its many functions, an evolutionarily conserved role in photoreceptor differentiation.