Identification of 526 conserved metazoan genetic innovations exposes a new role for cofactor E-like in neuronal microtubule homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of metazoans from their choanoflagellate-like unicellular ancestor coincided with the acquisition of novel biological functions to support a multicellular lifestyle, and eventually, the unique cellular and physiological demands of differentiated cell types such as those forming the nervous, muscle and immune systems. In an effort to understand the molecular underpinnings of such metazoan innovations, we carried out a comparative genomics analysis for genes found exclusively in, and widely conserved across, metazoans. Using this approach, we identified a set of 526 core metazoan-specific genes (the 'metazoanome'), approximately 10% of which are largely uncharacterized, 16% of which are associated with known human disease, and 66% of which are conserved in Trichoplax adhaerens,

SUBMITTER: Frederic MY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3789837 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature