Origin and evolution of ANTP-class homeobox genes

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Abstract

Genes of the ANTP classare known as evolutionary conserved and hierarchically high-level regulators ofdevelopment. They are the most studied and the most numeroushomeobox genes in animals. These genes encode homeodomain transcription factorsand possess a set of unique features, such as clustering,colinearity, evolutionary conservation, and consistent involvement in various differentiation processesthroughout the ontogeny of multicellular animals. The first ANTP genes (fromthe NK subclass) appear in ctenophores and sponges, which iswhy the evolution of Metazoa from a common unicellular ancestoris often associated with the emergence of the ANTP class(Larroux et al., 2007; Moroz et al., 2014). Phylogenetic analysisof homeobox genes, conducted across a broad range of basalMetazoa taxa, has shown that ANTP genes from the Hoxand ParaHox subclasses arose in the last common ancestor ofCnidaria and Bilateria. These new findings raise further questions. Howdoes the evolution of these clusters correlate with the evolutionof animals? What functions were acquired by the new genes,and which were inherited from ancestral NK genes? What changesin their regulation could have influenced the evolution of bodyplans in Metazoa? Is it even possible to answer thesequestions by studying modern multicellular organisms? This review aims to addressthese and other questions regarding the evolution of ANTP geneclusters. Special attention is given to the concept of the“megacluster”—a hypothetical synteny that united all ANTP subclassesat the dawn of Metazoa evolution. The decreasing cost of sequencingtechnologies offers some hope for answers, as it expands therange of model species available for study. The broader thisrange, the easier it becomes to identify universal and lineage-specificpatterns of molecular and morphological evolution.

About the authors

M. A. Kulakova

St. Petersburg State University

Email: m.kulakowa@spbu.ru
Oranienbaumskoye shosse 2, Old Peterhof, St. Petersburg, 199034 Russia

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