1996 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Molecular Embryology of the Origin and Evolution of Chordates
| Project/Area Number |
06044120
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for international Scientific Research
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | Joint Research |
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| Research Institution | KYOTO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
STOH Noriyuki Department of Zoology, Kyoto University, 大学院・理学研究科, 教授 (30025481)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
デビッドソン エリック 米国カリフォルニア工科大, 生物学教室, 教授
ジェフェリー ウィリアム 米国カリフォルニア大, デイビス校・ボデガ海洋研究所, 教授
JEFFER William R Bodega Marine Lab., Univ.of California, USA
DAVIDSON Eric Division of Biol., California Inst.Tech.USA
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| Project Period (FY) |
1994 – 1996
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| Keywords | chordates / origin / notochord / Brachyury (T) / HNF-3 / tunicates / amphioxus / sea urchins / hemichordates |
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| Research Abstract |
Chordates (urochordates, cephalochordates and vertebrates) are categorized as deuterostomes with two other invertebrate groups, echinoderms and hemichordates. Deuterostomes share many embryological and anatomical features or so-called the deuterostomy. In addition to the deuterostomy, chordates share several characteristic features, including a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord and pharyngeal gill slits. Of these features the notochord is the most prominent characteristic, as the name "Chordata" is derived from this organ.
Therefore, molecular mechanisms underlying the development of the notochord is of salient importance in attempts to understand their origin and evolution of chordates. Recently it has been shown that Brachyury (T) and HNF-3 genes are associated with notochord formation in vertebrate embryos. In this study, therefore, we investigated Brachyury (T) and HNF-3 gene expression in amphioxus, ascidians, hemichordates and sea urchins. We found that these genes are conserved in all of the deuterostome groups, that the Brachyury genes play a role in the formation of notochord in chordate embryos, and that the gene is expressed in secondary mesenchyme founder cells in sea urchin embryos.
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