The chordate ancestor possessed a single copy of the Brachyury gene for notochord acquisition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The T-box family transcription-factor gene, Brachyury, has two expression domains with discrete functions during animal embryogenesis. The primary domain, associated with the blastopore, is shared by most metazoans, while the secondary domain, involved in the notochord, is specific to chordates. In most animals, Brachyury is present in a single copy, but in cephalochordates, the most basal of the chordates, the gene is present in two copies, suggesting allotment of the two domains to each of the duplicates.

Results

In order to clarify whether Brachyury duplication occurred in the common ancestor of chordates after which one of duplicates was lost in the urochordate and vertebrate lineages, we estimated phylogenetic relationships of Brachyur

SUBMITTER: Inoue J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5363035 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature