The vertebrate heart: an evolutionary perspective

Abstract

Convergence is the tendency of independent species to evolve similarly when subjected to the same environmental conditions. The primitive blueprint for the circulatory system emerged around 700-600 Mya and exhibits diverse physiological adaptations across the radiations of vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata, Phylum Chordata). It has evolved from the early chordate circulatory system with a single layered tube in the tunicate (Subphylum Urchordata) or an amphioxus (Subphylum Cephalochordata), to a vertebrate circulatory system with a two-chambered heart made up of one atrium and one ventricle in gnathostome fish (Infraphylum Gnathostomata), to a system with a three-chambered heart made up of two atria which maybe partially divided or completely separated in amphibian tetrapods (Class Amphibia). Subsequent tetrapods, including crocodiles and alligators (Order Crocodylia, Subclass Crocodylomorpha, Class Reptilia), birds (Subclass Aves, Class Reptilia) and mammals (Class Mammalia) evolved a four-chambered heart. The structure and function of the circulatory system of each individual holds a vital role which benefits each species specifically. The special characteristics of the four-chamber mammalian heart are highlighted by the peculiar structure of the myocardial muscle.

The African turquoise killifish: A research organism to study vertebrate aging and diapause

“…(b) Selected features of the turquoise killifish that are conserved in human and vertebrate canonical research organisms (zebrafish and house mouse), but are missing in invertebrate canonical research organisms (round worm and fruit fly). References: nervous system: Shimeld and Holland (2000), Freeman and Doherty (2006); Lohr and Hammerschmidt (2011), Oikonomou and Shaham (2011), immune system: Langenau and Zon (2005), Engelmann and Pujol (2010), Buchon, Silverman and Cherry ( 2014); circulatory system: Lehmacher, Abeln and Paululat ( 2012); Stephenson, Adams and Vaccarezza ( 2017); respiratory system: Schottenfeld, Song and Ghabrial ( 2010); skeletal system: Shimeld and Holland (2000); muscular system: Moerman and Williams (2006), Demontis, Piccirillo, Goldberg and Perrimon ( 2013), Piccirillo, Demontis, Perrimon and Goldberg ( 2014), Goody, Carter, Kilroy, Maves and Henry ( 2017); digestive system: McKay, McKay, Avery and Graff ( 2003), Arrese and Soulages (2010), Hashmi et al. ( 2013), Kuraishi, Hori and Kurata ( 2013), Lemaitre and Miguel‐Aliaga (2013), McGhee (2013), Ritter et al.…”

Development and evolution of the metazoan heart

“…The differentiation of the precardiac mesoderm in an evolutionary context is driven by interactions between a restricted set of genes. A handful of orthologues (Nkx2.5/Tinman, GATA 4/5/6/Pannier, Hand1/2, Tbx5, Mef2c) in mesodermal precardiac tissues are referred to F I G U R E 1 Phylogenetic relationships to demonstrate the position of arthropods, mollusks, and chordates among the bilaterians and metazoan (After 9 ) as "heart regulatory kernel" 11,22,23 or "core cardiac transcription factors," 24 followed by various sets of "terminal selectors" 25 or "patterning genes," 24 with very different outcomes in ascidians and vertebrates, 26 which can be extended to other taxa such as insects and mollusks. 27 In arthropods, the various types of circulation have recently been described.…”

Retinoic acid signaling in heart development

“…Amniote hearts in crocodiles, birds, and mammals consist of a four-chambered heart with two atria and two ventricles (Stephenson et al, 2017). The right ventricle is a newly acquired component of the four-chambered heart and is thought to originate from the proximal part of the conus arteriosus.…”