An NKX2-5 homolog is required downstream of BMP signaling to pattern the sensory-adhesive organ of a tunicate larva.

ABSTRACT: Tunicates are the sister group to vertebrates within the chordate phylum, yet unlike other chordate groups, they evolved a biphasic lifecycle alternating between motile larvae and sessile adults. The papillae of most tunicate larvae are the key sensory-adhesive organ regulating their settlement and metamorphosis. The papillae are nearly always arranged as a group of three morphologically identical organs that arise from an anterior neural plate border region nested between ventral epidermis and more dorsal/posterior neural tube progenitors. Due to their embryonic origin and molecular signatures, this anterior border has been evolutionarily linked to vertebrate placode regions. It was previously shown that the specification, patterning, and morphogenesis of the embryonic papilla region all

SUBMITTER: Johnson CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12776149 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature