PUBLICATION

Molecular mechanisms underlying the exceptional adaptations of batoid fins

Authors
Nakamura, T., Klomp, J., Pieretti, J., Schneider, I., Gehrke, A.R., Shubin, N.H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-151209-1
Date
2015
Source
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America   112(52): 15940-5 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Gehrke, Andrew R., Nakamura, Tetsuya, Pieretti, Joyce, Shubin, Neil
Keywords
AER, development, evolution, fin, skate
MeSH Terms
  • Adaptation, Physiological/genetics*
  • Animal Fins/anatomy & histology
  • Animal Fins/embryology
  • Animal Fins/metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/embryology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors/classification
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors/genetics
  • Fish Proteins/classification
  • Fish Proteins/genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Homeodomain Proteins/classification
  • Homeodomain Proteins/genetics
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Phylogeny
  • Skates, Fish/embryology
  • Skates, Fish/genetics*
PubMed
26644578 Full text @ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Abstract
Extreme novelties in the shape and size of paired fins are exemplified by extinct and extant cartilaginous and bony fishes. Pectoral fins of skates and rays, such as the little skate (Batoid, Leucoraja erinacea), show a strikingly unique morphology where the pectoral fin extends anteriorly to ultimately fuse with the head. This results in a morphology that essentially surrounds the body and is associated with the evolution of novel swimming mechanisms in the group. In an approach that extends from RNA sequencing to in situ hybridization to functional assays, we show that anterior and posterior portions of the pectoral fin have different genetic underpinnings: canonical genes of appendage development control posterior fin development via an apical ectodermal ridge (AER), whereas an alternative Homeobox (Hox)-Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)-Wingless type MMTV integration site family (Wnt) genetic module in the anterior region creates an AER-like structure that drives anterior fin expansion. Finally, we show that GLI family zinc finger 3 (Gli3), which is an anterior repressor of tetrapod digits, is expressed in the posterior half of the pectoral fin of skate, shark, and zebrafish but in the anterior side of the pelvic fin. Taken together, these data point to both highly derived and deeply ancestral patterns of gene expression in skate pectoral fins, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms behind the evolution of novel fin morphologies.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping