PUBLICATION

Gene expression in notochord and nuclei pulposi: a study of gene families across the chordate phylum

Authors
Raghavan, R., Coppola, U., Wu, Y., Ihewulezi, C., Negrón-Piñeiro, L.J., Maguire, J.E., Hong, J., Cunningham, M., Kim, H.J., Albert, T.J., Ali, A.M., Saint-Jeannet, J.P., Ristoratore, F., Dahia, C.L., Di Gregorio, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-231029-57
Date
2023
Source
BMC ecology and evolution   23: 63 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Coppola, Ugo
Keywords
Ciona, Coronin, Human, Mouse, Notochord, Nucleus pulposus, Phip, Rgm, Rgs, Tmod, Xenopus, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Chordata*
  • Gene Expression
  • Notochord/metabolism
  • Nucleus Pulposus*
  • Pilot Projects
PubMed
37891482 Full text @ BMC Ecol Evol
Abstract
The transition from notochord to vertebral column is a crucial milestone in chordate evolution and in prenatal development of all vertebrates. As ossification of the vertebral bodies proceeds, involutions of residual notochord cells into the intervertebral discs form the nuclei pulposi, shock-absorbing structures that confer flexibility to the spine. Numerous studies have outlined the developmental and evolutionary relationship between notochord and nuclei pulposi. However, the knowledge of the similarities and differences in the genetic repertoires of these two structures remains limited, also because comparative studies of notochord and nuclei pulposi across chordates are complicated by the gene/genome duplication events that led to extant vertebrates. Here we show the results of a pilot study aimed at bridging the information on these two structures. We have followed in different vertebrates the evolutionary trajectory of notochord genes identified in the invertebrate chordate Ciona, and we have evaluated the extent of conservation of their expression in notochord cells. Our results have uncovered evolutionarily conserved markers of both notochord development and aging/degeneration of the nuclei pulposi.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping