Origins of Bilateral Symmetry:
            <i>Hox</i>
            and
            <i>Dpp</i>
            Expression in a Sea Anemone

Finnerty, John R.; Pang, Kevin; Burton, Pat; Paulson, Dave; Martindale, Mark Q.

doi:10.1126/science.1091946

Cited by 377 publications

(316 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

283

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…NvHoxD, a homeobox-containing transcription factor localized to one side of the directive axis of Nematostella (Fig. 5A), is thought to be involved in the differentiation along this axis (Finnerty et al 2004). HoxD has been reported to exist as two closely related paralogs (Chourrout et al 2006), but our exhaustive cloning of HoxD transcripts as well as sequencing of the corresponding genomic region suggests that Nematostella possesses a single HoxD gene bearing duplicated 39 exons that produce several mRNA isoforms via alternative splicing (Fig.…”

Section: Nematostella Mirnas Mediate Target Cleavagementioning

confidence: 96%

Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In bilaterians, which comprise most of extant animals, microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the majority of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) via base-pairing of a short sequence (the miRNA ''seed'') to the target, subsequently promoting translational inhibition and transcript instability. In plants, many miRNAs guide endonucleolytic cleavage of highly complementary targets. Because little is known about miRNA function in nonbilaterian animals, we investigated the repertoire and biological activity of miRNAs in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, a representative of Cnidaria, the sister phylum of Bilateria. Our work uncovers scores of novel miRNAs in Nematostella, increasing the total miRNA gene count to 87. Yet only a handful are conserved in corals and hydras, suggesting that microRNA gene turnover in Cnidaria greatly exceeds that of other metazoan groups. We further show that Nematostella miRNAs frequently direct the cleavage of their mRNA targets via nearly perfect complementarity. This mode of action resembles that of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and plant miRNAs. It appears to be common in Cnidaria, as several of the miRNA target sites are conserved among distantly related anemone species, and we also detected miRNA-directed cleavage in Hydra. Unlike in bilaterians, Nematostella miRNAs are commonly coexpressed with their target transcripts. In light of these findings, we propose that post-transcriptional regulation by miRNAs functions differently in Cnidaria and Bilateria. The similar, siRNA-like mode of action of miRNAs in Cnidaria and plants suggests that this may be an ancestral state.

show abstract

Section: Nematostella Mirnas Mediate Target Cleavagementioning

confidence: 96%

Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It may even precede the Bilateria, since it is also present in some species of the phylum Cnidaria, which is outside the Bilateria. In the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, for example, bilateral symmetry is dependent on the expression of homologous Hox genes much as it is in the Bilateria, suggesting that bilateral symmetry arose even before the evolutionary split between the Cnidaria and the Bilateria (Finnerty et al 2004). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution and genetics of cerebral asymmetry

Corballis

2008

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

236

167

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Handedness and cerebral asymmetry are commonly assumed to be uniquely human, and even defining characteristics of our species. This is increasingly refuted by the evidence of behavioural asymmetries in non-human species. Although complex manual skill and language are indeed unique to our species and are represented asymmetrically in the brain, some non-human asymmetries appear to be precursors, and others are shared between humans and non-humans. In all behavioural and cerebral asymmetries so far investigated, a minority of individuals reverse or negate the dominant asymmetry, suggesting that such asymmetries are best understood in the context of the overriding bilateral symmetry of the brain and body, and a trade-off between the relative advantages and disadvantages of symmetry and asymmetry. Genetic models of handedness, for example, typically postulate a gene with two alleles, one disposing towards right-handedness and the other imposing no directional influence. There is as yet no convincing evidence as to the location of this putative gene, suggesting that several genes may be involved, or that the gene may be monomorphic with variations due to environmental or epigenetic influences. Nevertheless, it is suggested that, in behavioural, neurological and evolutionary terms, it may be more profitable to examine the degree rather than the direction of asymmetry.

show abstract

“…1). Ligands and downstream components of the signaling cascade have been found both in Cnidaria (metazoans that include Hydra, the anemone Nematostella, jellyfish, and corals), and also in the sponges, the most ancient metazoan clade (Suga et al, 1999;Hayward et al, 2002;Finnerty et al, 2004;Reinhardt et al, 2004;Rentzsch et al, 2006Rentzsch et al, , 2007Reber-Mü ller et al, 2006;Nichols et al, 2006;Adamska et al, 2007;Zoccola et al, 2009). Thus far, no TGF␤ superfamily signaling components have been reported in taxa "basal to" the sponges, including the single-celled choanoflagellates, fungi, or protozoa (Nichols et al, 2006;King et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding partners: How BMPs select their targets

Blitz

Cho

2009

Developmental Dynamics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway is a conserved and evolutionarily ancient regulatory module affecting a large variety of cellular behaviors. The evolutionary flexibility in using BMP responses presumably arose by co-option of a canonical BMP signaling cascade to regulate the transcription of diverse batteries of target genes. This begs the question of how seemingly interchangeable BMP signaling components elicit widely different outputs in different cell types, an important issue in the context of understanding how BMP signaling integrates with gene regulatory networks to control development. Because a molecular understanding of how BMP signaling activates different batteries of target genes is an essential prerequisite to comprehending the roles of BMPs in regulating cellular responses, here we review the current knowledge of how BMP-regulated target genes are selected by the signal transduction machinery. We highlight recent studies suggesting the evolutionary conservation of BMP target gene regulation signaling by Schnurri family zinc finger proteins.

show abstract

Origins of Bilateral Symmetry: Hox and Dpp Expression in a Sea Anemone

Cited by 377 publications

References 24 publications

Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage

Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage

The evolution and genetics of cerebral asymmetry

Finding partners: How BMPs select their targets

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About