80 research outputs found
Expression of Hox, Cdx, and Six3/6 genes in the hoplonemertean Pantinonemertes californiensis offers insight into the evolution of maximally indirect development in the phylum Nemertea
New Insights into the Evolution of Metazoan Tyrosinase Gene Family
Tyrosinases, widely distributed among animals, plants and fungi, are involved in the biosynthesis of melanin, a pigment that has been exploited, in the course of evolution, to serve different functions. We conducted a deep evolutionary analysis of tyrosinase family amongst metazoa, thanks to the availability of new sequenced genomes, assessing that tyrosinases (tyr) represent a distinctive feature of all the organisms included in our study and, interestingly, they show an independent expansion in most of the analyzed phyla. Tyrosinase-related proteins (tyrp), which derive from tyr but show distinct key residues in the catalytic domain, constitute an invention of chordate lineage. In addition we here reported a detailed study of the expression territories of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis tyr and tyrps. Furthermore, we put efforts in the identification of the regulatory sequences responsible for their expression in pigment cell lineage. Collectively, the results reported here enlarge our knowledge about the tyrosinase gene family as valuable resource for understanding the genetic components involved in pigment cells evolution and development
Comparative localization of serotonin-like immunoreactive cells in Thaliacea informs tunicate phylogeny
Nervous system development in lecithotrophic larval and juvenile stages of the annelid Capitella teleta
A new vetulicolian from Australia and its bearing on the chordate affinities of an enigmatic Cambrian group
Evolution and development of the adelphophagic, intracapsular Schmidt’s larva of the nemertean Lineus ruber
Controlling Reaction-Diffusion Pattern with Gradients: Lessons from Drosophila, and Trajectories Through Parameter Space
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