Conservation and diversification of an ancestral chordate gene regulatory network for dorsoventral patterning

0355826 - ÚMG 2011 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Kozmiková, Iryna - Smolíková, Jana - Vlček, Čestmír - Kozmik, Zbyněk
Conservation and diversification of an ancestral chordate gene regulatory network for dorsoventral patterning.
PLoS ONE. Roč. 6, č. 2 (2011), e14650. ISSN 1932-6203. E-ISSN 1932-6203
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA500520604; GA AV ČR IAA500520908
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520514
Keywords : Wnt Bmp * amphioxus * axial patterning
Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology
Impact factor: 4.092, year: 2011

Formation of a dorsoventral axis is a key event in the early development of most animal embryos. It is well established that bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps) and Wnts are key mediators of dorsoventral patterning in vertebrates. In the cephalochordate amphioxus, genes encoding Bmps and transcription factors downstream of Bmp signaling such as Vent are expressed in patterns reminiscent of those of their vertebrate orthologues. We found that Bmp but not canonical Wnt signaling regulates promoters of genes encoding homeodomain proteins AmphiVent1 and AmphiVent2. Our data indicate high evolutionary conservation of a core Bmp-triggered gene regulatory network for dorsoventral patterning in chordates and suggest that co-option of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway for dorsoventral patterning in vertebrates represents one of the innovations through which an increased morphological complexity of vertebrate embryo is achieved.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0194506