Amphioxus as a model for mechanisms in vertebrate development
In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS). John Wiley & Sons: Basingstoke. ISSN 1476-9506; e-ISSN 1476-9506, more
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| Abstract |
For the last two centuries, the cephalochordates, commonly known as lancelets or amphioxus, have been central to investigate the evolutionary genesis of vertebrates. At first, by classical morphologists fascinated by their odd but at the same time familiar anatomical traits and later by molecular biologists giving the first insights into their slow evolving nature. The present data available not only holds amphioxus as an organism of preternatural importance within the tree of life but also boosts its potential to untangle the molecular basis underlying the vertebrate complexity. This is a walk through the past and present of the amphioxus field merging morphological and molecular data in linkage with the fossil record and the modern vertebrates. The resulting picture is drawn together with comparative maps of genome organisation, gastrulation and the origin of the vertebrate organiser, neurulation and the origin of the neural crest, and shared signalling mechanisms between vertebrates and amphioxus during development. Special attention is also given to some of the most critical vertebrate novelties and how the pre‐duplicative amphioxus genetic toolkit might have contributed to set the basis for evolving complexity in the course of vertebrate evolution. |
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