Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published December 15, 2003 | public
Journal Article

Id expression in amphioxus and lamprey highlights the role of gene cooption during neural crest evolution

Abstract

Neural crest cells are unique to vertebrates and generate many of the adult structures that differentiate them from their closest invertebrate relatives, the cephalochordates. Id genes are robust markers of neural crest cells at all stages of development. We compared Id gene expression in amphioxus and lamprey to ask if cephalochordates deploy Id genes at the neural plate border and dorsal neural tube in a manner similar to vertebrates. Furthermore, we examined whether Id expression in these cells is a basal vertebrate trait or a derived feature of gnathostomes. We found that while expression of Id genes in the mesoderm and endoderm is conserved between amphioxus and vertebrates, expression in the lateral neural plate border and dorsal neural tube is a vertebrate novelty. Furthermore, expression of lamprey Id implies that recruitment of Id genes to these cells occurred very early in the vertebrate lineage. Based on expression in amphioxus we postulate that Id cooption conferred sensory cell progenitor-like properties upon the lateral neurectoderm, and pharyngeal mesoderm-like properties upon cranial neural crest. Amphioxus Id expression is also consistent with homology between the anterior neurectoderm of amphioxus and the presumptive placodal ectoderm of vertebrates. These observations support the idea that neural crest evolution was driven in large part by cooption of multipurpose transcriptional regulators from other tissues and cell types.

Additional Information

© 2003 Elsevier Inc. Received for publication 9 May 2003, revised 5 September 2003, accepted 10 September 2003. Available online 27 October 2003. We thank Nick Holland, Linda Holland, and John Lawrence for making amphioxus collection possible, Jim Langeland for providing us with superb cDNA libraries, and Roger Bergstedt and the staff of Hammond Bay Biological Station for assisting with lamprey embryo collection. This work was supported by USPHS grant DE13223 and NASA NAG 2-1585 to M.B.F.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023