Are Cirripedia hopeful monsters? Cytogenetic approach and evidence for a Hox gene cluster in the cirripede crustacean Sacculina carcini

The "hopeful monster" has haunted evolutionary thinking since Richard Goldschmidt coined the phrase in 1933. The phrase is directly related to genetic mechanisms in development and evolution. Cirripedes are peculiar crustaceans in that they all lack abdomens as adults. In a previous study...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development genes and evolution 2006-07, Vol.216 (7-8), p.443-449
Main Authors: Géant, Elodie, Mouchel-Vielh, Emmanuèle, Coutanceau, Jean-Pierre, Ozouf-Costaz, Catherine, Deutsch, Jean S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arthropoda
Chromosome Walking
Chromosomes - genetics
Cirripedia
Crustacea - genetics
Crustaceans
Evolution
Genes, Homeobox
Genetics
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
Karyotyping
Multigene Family
Sacculina carcini
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Summary:The "hopeful monster" has haunted evolutionary thinking since Richard Goldschmidt coined the phrase in 1933. The phrase is directly related to genetic mechanisms in development and evolution. Cirripedes are peculiar crustaceans in that they all lack abdomens as adults. In a previous study aimed at describing the repertoire of Hox genes of the Cirripedia, we failed to isolate the abdominal-A gene in three species representative of all three cirripede orders. To address the question of whether the cirripede ancestor could have been a "hopeful monster" arising from a rearrangement of the Hox complex, we have performed a cytogenetic analysis of the Hox complex of the cirripede Sacculina carcini. We present here molecular and cytogenetic evidence for the grouping of the Hox genes on a single chromosome. This is the first direct evidence reported for the grouping of Hox genes on the same chromosome in a non-insect arthropod species.
ISSN:0949-944X
1432-041X
DOI:10.1007/s00427-006-0088-1