-
Categories
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
-
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
-
Food Additives
- Industrial Coatings
- Agrochemicals
- Dyes and Pigments
- Surfactant
- Flavors and Fragrances
- Chemical Reagents
- Catalyst and Auxiliary
- Natural Products
- Inorganic Chemistry
-
Organic Chemistry
-
Biochemical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
-
Cosmetic Ingredient
- Water Treatment Chemical
-
Pharmaceutical Intermediates
Promotion
ECHEMI Mall
Wholesale
Weekly Price
Exhibition
News
-
Trade Service
Harvard researchers show how animals use genes to develop limbs and eyes
The last common ancestor of cephalopods and vertebrates existed more than 500 million years ago
.
In fact, squid are more closely related to clams than to humans
For decades, scientists have wondered how squid and their closest relatives got their eyes
.
In a study published this week in the journal BMC Biology, a Harvard lab is one step closer to solving the mystery
Researchers from the FAS Center for Systems Biology have discovered an important gene network in squid eye development that is also known to play a key role in limb development in animals such as vertebrates and insects
.
Scientists say these genes have been repurposed in the squid to give it camera-lens-shaped eyes
The findings could help researchers understand how these genes and known cellular pathways really work in cephalopods and vertebrates
.
They also provide an innovative example of how different animal lineages can subtly hijack the genetic tools in their arsenals and tweak them to achieve amazing evolutionary feats
"It's pretty shocking because very few people think that the lens of the eye is a lot like the leg," said Kristen Koenig, a John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellow and the study's senior author
.
"One of the big questions in biology is how do you create new [morphological features]
Kristen Koenig (right), Kyle J.
McCulloch
Scientists from Koenig's lab speculate that the gene networks they found in squid may not be important for creating specific organs, but they may be doing something more general that is useful for specific developmental functions, including limb and lens development.
"Our findings shatter the idea that this network evolved solely for 'limb growth' function, but instead provides a broader function for any pattern requiring this concentric circle-like motif, including limb, lens, tooth growth, and Other functions that we have yet to identify,
" said Kyle J.
McCulloch, a postdoctoral researcher in Koenig's lab and lead author of the study
The researchers gained a better understanding of the role of these genes in squid eye development by manipulating a cellular pathway called the WNT signaling pathway
.
In fruit flies, this is a well-known pathway that triggers genes that lead to limb development
.
The researchers wanted to know how a set of genes important for leg development form the lens, and what role the WNT signaling pathway plays in lens development
.
They performed experiments on squid embryos and found that overactivating this pathway leads to the loss of the lens
.
This led the scientists to believe that differences in how WNT signaling acts on these genes may be important in the way the squid controls gene expression in its limbs and lens
.
The lab plans to continue studying these genes and compare their functions in lens development with their functions in the development of other morphological traits
.
"This work finally shows the power of studying different systems," Koenig said
.
"It's surprising that genes that we've studied so well in other model systems, such as fruit flies and vertebrates, that we thought we knew had a common function of making legs, are being used in a completely different organ, the squid
.
It changes the way we think about the role of these canonical genes in development
.
By looking at the diversity of life, we may actually understand more precisely what these genes are doing
.
"
