Hedgehog crosses the snail's midline (original) (raw)

Evolutionary biology

Nature volume 417, pages 811–812 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

According to the dorsoventral axis-inversion theory1, protostomes (such as insects, snails and worms) are organized upside-down by comparison with deuterostomes (vertebrates)2,3,4,5, in which case their respective ventrally (belly-side) and dorsally (back-side) located nervous systems, as well as their midline regions, should all be derived from a common ancestor5. Here we provide experimental evidence for such homology by showing that an orthologue of hedgehog, an important gene in midline patterning in vertebrates, is expressed along the belly of the larva of the limpet Patella vulgata. This finding supports the existence of a similar mechanism for the development of the midline of the nervous system in protostomes and deuterostomes.

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Figure 1: The hedgehog gene in the limpet Patella vulgata is expressed in the ventral midline of the trochophore larva.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, CH Utrecht, 3584, The Netherlands
    Alexander J. Nederbragt, André E. van Loon & Wim J. A. G. Dictus

Authors

  1. Alexander J. Nederbragt
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  2. André E. van Loon
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  3. Wim J. A. G. Dictus
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Corresponding author

Correspondence toAlexander J. Nederbragt.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Nederbragt, A., van Loon, A. & Dictus, W. Hedgehog crosses the snail's midline.Nature 417, 811–812 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/417811b

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