Molluscan Shells, Spicules, and Gladii Are Evolutionarily Deeply Conserved.

ABSTRACT: Shells, spicules, and chaetae are diverse among extant and extinct spiralians such as mollusks, annelids, or brachiopods. These hard parts serve different functions, but their formation process and evolutionary interrelationships are still contentious. We investigated the expression of evolutionarily conserved transcription factor encoding genes as well as the structural genes chitin synthase and ferritin in cells giving rise to shells and spicules of aculiferans, i.e. the polyplacophoran Acanthochitona fascicularis and the neomeniomorph Wirenia argentea, as well as the conchiferan cephalopod Xipholeptos notoides and the scaphopod Antalis entalis. Polyplacophorans and neomeniomorphs express hox1 (only neomeniomorphs), goosecoid, grainyhead, and chitin-synthase in their spicules. Grainyhead

SUBMITTER: Barrera Grijalba CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12046283 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature