Reptiles: A New Model for Brain Evo-Devo Research

Vertebrate brains exhibit vast amounts of anatomical diversity. In particular, the elaborate and complex nervous system of amniotes is correlated with the size of their behavioral repertoire. However, the evolutionary mechanisms underlying species‐specific brain morphogenesis remain elusive. In this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution Molecular and developmental evolution, 2013-03, Vol.320 (2), p.57-73
Main Authors: Nomura, Tadashi, Kawaguchi, Masahumi, Ono, Katsuhiko, Murakami, Yasunori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Animals
Biological Evolution
Brain - anatomy & histology
Models, Biological
Reptiles - anatomy & histology
Reptiles - classification
Reptiles - growth & development
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Summary:Vertebrate brains exhibit vast amounts of anatomical diversity. In particular, the elaborate and complex nervous system of amniotes is correlated with the size of their behavioral repertoire. However, the evolutionary mechanisms underlying species‐specific brain morphogenesis remain elusive. In this review we introduce reptiles as a new model organism for understanding brain evolution. These animal groups inherited ancestral traits of brain architectures. We will describe several unique aspects of the reptilian nervous system with a special focus on the telencephalon, and discuss the genetic mechanisms underlying reptile‐specific brain morphology. The establishment of experimental evo‐devo approaches to studying reptiles will help to shed light on the origin of the amniote brains. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 320B:57–73, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:1552-5007
1552-5015
DOI:10.1002/jez.b.22484