Seeing chordate evolution through the Ciona genome sequence 英文参考文献.docVIP

Minireview Seeing chordate evolution through the Ciona genome sequence Cristian Ca?estro, Susan Bassham and John H Postlethwait Address: Institute of Neuroscience, 1254 University of Oregon, 1425 E. 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403, USA. Correspondence: John H Postlethwait. E-mail: jpostle@ Published: 3 March 2003 Genome Biology 2003, 4:208 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at /2003/4/3/208 ? 2003 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract A draft sequence of the compact genome of the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis, a non-vertebrate chordate that diverged very early from other chordates, including vertebrates, illuminates how chordates originated and how vertebrate developmental innovations evolved. “Mr. Kovalevsky has lately observed that the larvae of ascidians are related to the Vertebrata, in their manner of development, in the relative position of the nervous system, and in possessing a structure evolutionary heritage so well that for a long time it languished in classifications among the mollusks, or even the “Vermes”. In 1866, Kovalevsky recognized that this ‘gilt-rimmed vase’ (see Figure 1a) and its relatives each developed from a beauti- ful larva that was obviously a chordate and a cousin of the ver- tebrates. The ‘tadpole’ larva has a notochord supporting a propulsive tail and a dorsal nervous system (Figure 1b). This microscopic larva settles from the plankton, glues its ‘face’ to a rock, and metamorphoses by resorbing its tail, restructuring its nervous system, and deploying a pair of siphons through which it will filter algae from the sea for the rest of its days. closely like the chorda dorsalis of vertebrate animals;... Thus, if we may rely on embryology, ever the safest guide in classification, it seems that we have at last gained a clew to the source whence the Vertebrata were derived.” Charles Darwin [1] The organism Since Ko