Evolutionary origin and functional divergence of totipotent cell homeobox genes in eutherian mammals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A central goal of evolutionary biology is to link genomic change to phenotypic evolution. The origin of new transcription factors is a special case of genomic evolution since it brings opportunities for novel regulatory interactions and potentially the emergence of new biological properties.

Results

We demonstrate that a group of four homeobox gene families (Argfx, Leutx, Dprx, Tprx), plus a gene newly described here (Pargfx), arose by tandem gene duplication from the retinal-expressed Crx gene, followed by asymmetric sequence evolution. We show these genes arose as part of repeated gene gain and loss events on a dynamic chromosomal region in the stem lineage of placental mammals, on the forerunner of human chromosome 19. The human orthologues of these genes are e

SUBMITTER: Maeso I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4904359 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature