PUBLICATION

Two lamprey hedgehog genes share non-coding regulatory sequences and expression patterns with gnathostome hedgehogs

Authors
Kano, S., Xiao, J.H., Osorio, J., Ekker, M., Hadzhiev, Y., Muller, F., Casane, D., Magdelenat, G., and Retaux, S.
ID
ZDB-PUB-101027-31
Date
2010
Source
PLoS One   5(10): e13332 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Casane, Didier, Ekker, Marc, Hadzhiev, Yavor, Kano, Shungo, Müller, Ferenc
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic
  • Hedgehog Proteins/genetics*
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Lampreys/genetics*
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
PubMed
20967201 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
Hedgehog (Hh) genes play major roles in animal development and studies of their evolution, expression and function point to major differences among chordates. Here we focused on Hh genes in lampreys in order to characterize the evolution of Hh signalling at the emergence of vertebrates. Screening of a cosmid library of the river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and searching the preliminary genome assembly of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus indicate that lampreys have two Hh genes, named Hha and Hhb. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that Hha and Hhb are lamprey-specific paralogs closely related to Sonic/Indian Hh genes. Expression analysis indicates that Hha and Hhb are expressed in a Sonic Hh-like pattern. The two transcripts are expressed in largely overlapping but not identical domains in the lamprey embryonic brain, including a newly-described expression domain in the nasohypophyseal placode. Global alignments of genomic sequences and local alignment with known gnathostome regulatory motifs show that lamprey Hhs share conserved non-coding elements (CNE) with gnathostome Hhs albeit with sequences that have significantly diverged and dispersed. Functional assays using zebrafish embryos demonstrate gnathostome-like midline enhancer activity for CNEs contained in intron2. We conclude that lamprey Hh genes are gnathostome Shh-like in terms of expression and regulation. In addition, they show some lamprey-specific features, including duplication and structural (but not functional) changes in the intronic/regulatory sequences.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping