Gene Regulatory Networks, Homology, and the Early Panarthropod Fossil Record

The arthropod body plan is widely believed to have derived from an ancestral form resembling Cambrian-aged fossil lobopodians, and interpretations of morphological and molecular data have long favored this hypothesis. It is possible, however, that appendages and other morphologies observed in extinc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Integrative and comparative biology 2017-09, Vol.57 (3), p.477-487
Main Author: Tweedt, Sarah M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arthropods - classification
Arthropods - genetics
Biological Evolution
Fossils
Gene Regulatory Networks
Phylogeny
The Evolution of Arthropod Body Plans–Integrating Phylogeny, Fossils and Development
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Summary:The arthropod body plan is widely believed to have derived from an ancestral form resembling Cambrian-aged fossil lobopodians, and interpretations of morphological and molecular data have long favored this hypothesis. It is possible, however, that appendages and other morphologies observed in extinct and living panarthropods evolved independently. The key to distinguishing between morphological homology and homoplasy lies in the study of developmental gene regulatory networks (GRNs), and specifically, in determining the unique genetic circuits that construct characters. In this study, I discuss character identity and panarthropod appendage evolution within a developmental GRN framework, with a specific focus on potential limb character identity networks (“ChINs”). I summarize recent molecular studies, and argue that current data do not rule out the possibility of independent panarthropod limb evolution. The link between character identity and GRN architecture has broad implications for homology assessment, and this genetic framework offers alternative approaches to fossil character coding, phylogenetic analyses, and future research into the origin of the arthropod body plan.
ISSN:1540-7063
1557-7023
DOI:10.1093/icb/icx095