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Evolutionary transition between invertebrates and vertebrates via methylation reprogramming in embryogenesis
Xiaocui Xu1,2, Guoqiang Li1, Congru Li1,2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
National Science Review
|October 25, 2021
Summary
DNA methylation reprogramming evolved dramatically during animal evolution, particularly after the invertebrate-to-vertebrate transition. This epigenetic change is linked to development and immunity in vertebrates, unlike in invertebrates.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Epigenetics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Major evolutionary transitions, especially between invertebrates and vertebrates, present significant biological enigmas.
- Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, are increasingly recognized for their role in evolutionary innovation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary trajectory of DNA methylation reprogramming across metazoans.
- To identify molecular clues, specifically epigenetic changes, underlying the invertebrate-to-vertebrate transition.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed the inheritance and reprogramming of parental DNA methylation across diverse metazoan groups, focusing on gametes and early embryos.
- Compared methylome reprogramming patterns in pre-bilaterians, protostomes, deuterostomes, and vertebrates.
- Performed functional association analysis linking DNA methylation dynamics to developmental and immune processes.
Main Results:
- Methylome reprogramming during embryogenesis is absent in cnidarians and insects but present in deuterostomes (echinoderms, invertebrate chordates) and more evident in vertebrates.
- DNA methylation reprogramming in vertebrates is associated with development, reproduction, and adaptive immunity, but not in invertebrates.
- Vertebrate HOX clusters exhibit dynamic DNA methylation during embryogenesis, correlating with spatiotemporal expression, unlike the stable unmethylated state in invertebrate HOX clusters.
Conclusions:
- DNA methylation reprogramming has undergone significant evolution during animal diversification, particularly following the invertebrate-to-vertebrate transition.
- The emergence of DNA methylation reprogramming in deuterostomes and its expansion in vertebrates represent a key epigenetic innovation.
- Epigenetic dynamics, especially concerning HOX gene regulation, likely contributed to the complex innovations seen in vertebrate evolution.
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