A novel gene family controls species-specific morphological traits in Hydra.
PLoS Biol
; 6(11): e278, 2008 Nov 18.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19018660
ABSTRACT
Understanding the molecular events that underlie the evolution of morphological diversity is a major challenge in biology. Here, to identify genes whose expression correlates with species-specific morphologies, we compared transcriptomes of two closely related Hydra species. We find that species-specific differences in tentacle formation correlate with expression of a taxonomically restricted gene encoding a small secreted protein. We show that gain of function induces changes in morphology that mirror the phenotypic differences observed between species. These results suggest that "novel" genes may be involved in the generation of species-specific morphological traits.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Fatores de Transcrição
/
Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento
/
Evolução Molecular
/
Hydra
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS Biol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha