Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2013 Oct 01;11040:16050-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1309748110.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Early evolution of the T-box transcription factor family.
Sebé-Pedrós A
,
Ariza-Cosano A
,
Weirauch MT
,
Leininger S
,
Yang A
,
Torruella G
,
Adamski M
,
Adamska M
,
Hughes TR
,
Gómez-Skarmeta JL
,
Ruiz-Trillo I
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
Developmental transcription factors are key players in animal multicellularity, being members of the T-box family that are among the most important. Until recently, T-box transcription factors were thought to be exclusively present in metazoans. Here, we report the presence of T-box genes in several nonmetazoan lineages, including ichthyosporeans, filastereans, and fungi. Our data confirm that Brachyury is the most ancient member of the T-box family and establish that the T-box family diversified at the onset of Metazoa. Moreover, we demonstrate functional conservation of a homolog of Brachyury of the protist Capsaspora owczarzaki in Xenopus laevis. By comparing the molecular phenotype of C. owczarzaki Brachyury with that of homologs of early branching metazoans, we define a clear difference between unicellular holozoan and metazoan Brachyury homologs, suggesting that the specificity of Brachyury emerged at the origin of Metazoa. Experimental determination of the binding preferences of the C. owczarzaki Brachyury results in a similar motif to that of metazoan Brachyury and other T-box classes. This finding suggests that functional specificity between different T-box classes is likely achieved by interaction with alternative cofactors, as opposed to differences in binding specificity.
Adell,
Isolation and characterization of two T-box genes from sponges, the phylogenetically oldest metazoan taxon.
2003, Pubmed
Adell,
Isolation and characterization of two T-box genes from sponges, the phylogenetically oldest metazoan taxon.
2003,
Pubmed
Badis,
Diversity and complexity in DNA recognition by transcription factors.
2009,
Pubmed
Berger,
Universal protein-binding microarrays for the comprehensive characterization of the DNA-binding specificities of transcription factors.
2009,
Pubmed
Berger,
Compact, universal DNA microarrays to comprehensively determine transcription-factor binding site specificities.
2006,
Pubmed
Bielen,
Divergent functions of two ancient Hydra Brachyury paralogues suggest specific roles for their C-terminal domains in tissue fate induction.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Casey,
The T-box transcription factor Brachyury regulates expression of eFGF through binding to a non-palindromic response element.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Charoensawan,
Genomic repertoires of DNA-binding transcription factors across the tree of life.
2010,
Pubmed
Coffman,
Expression of an extracellular deletion of Xotch diverts cell fate in Xenopus embryos.
1993,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Conlon,
Determinants of T box protein specificity.
2001,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Conlon,
Inhibition of Xbra transcription activation causes defects in mesodermal patterning and reveals autoregulation of Xbra in dorsal mesoderm.
1996,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Dunn,
Broad phylogenomic sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life.
2008,
Pubmed
Eddy,
Profile hidden Markov models.
1998,
Pubmed
Garnett,
Identification of direct T-box target genes in the developing zebrafish mesoderm.
2009,
Pubmed
Gómez-Skarmeta,
Xiro, a Xenopus homolog of the Drosophila Iroquois complex genes, controls development at the neural plate.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Harland,
Translation of mRNA injected into Xenopus oocytes is specifically inhibited by antisense RNA.
1985,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Hejnol,
Assessing the root of bilaterian animals with scalable phylogenomic methods.
2009,
Pubmed
Holstien,
Expansion, diversification, and expression of T-box family genes in Porifera.
2010,
Pubmed
Itzkovitz,
Coding limits on the number of transcription factors.
2006,
Pubmed
Jones,
Wholemount in situ hybridization to Xenopus embryos.
1999,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
King,
The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans.
2008,
Pubmed
Kispert,
The Brachyury gene encodes a novel DNA binding protein.
1993,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Larroux,
Genesis and expansion of metazoan transcription factor gene classes.
2008,
Pubmed
Manuel,
Comparative analysis of Brachyury T-domains, with the characterization of two new sponge sequences, from a hexactinellid and a calcisponge.
2004,
Pubmed
Marcellini,
When Brachyury meets Smad1: the evolution of bilateral symmetry during gastrulation.
2006,
Pubmed
Marcellini,
Evolution of Brachyury proteins: identification of a novel regulatory domain conserved within Bilateria.
2003,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Martinelli,
T-box and homeobox genes from the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus: comparison of Brachyury, Tbx2/3 and Tlx in basal metazoans and bilaterians.
2005,
Pubmed
Messenger,
Functional specificity of the Xenopus T-domain protein Brachyury is conferred by its ability to interact with Smad1.
2005,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Papaioannou,
T-box genes in development: from hydra to humans.
2001,
Pubmed
Papaioannou,
The T-box gene family.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Philippe,
Phylogenomics revives traditional views on deep animal relationships.
2009,
Pubmed
Pick,
Improved phylogenomic taxon sampling noticeably affects nonbilaterian relationships.
2010,
Pubmed
Ruiz-Trillo,
Capsaspora owczarzaki is an independent opisthokont lineage.
2004,
Pubmed
Scholz,
The ancestral role of Brachyury: expression of NemBra1 in the basal cnidarian Nematostella vectensis (Anthozoa).
2003,
Pubmed
Sebé-Pedrós,
Unexpected repertoire of metazoan transcription factors in the unicellular holozoan Capsaspora owczarzaki.
2011,
Pubmed
Shalchian-Tabrizi,
Multigene phylogeny of choanozoa and the origin of animals.
2008,
Pubmed
Showell,
T-box genes in early embryogenesis.
2004,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Slattery,
Cofactor binding evokes latent differences in DNA binding specificity between Hox proteins.
2011,
Pubmed
Smith,
T-box genes: what they do and how they do it.
1999,
Pubmed
Technau,
Brachyury, the blastopore and the evolution of the mesoderm.
2001,
Pubmed
Torruella,
Phylogenetic relationships within the Opisthokonta based on phylogenomic analyses of conserved single-copy protein domains.
2012,
Pubmed
Turner,
Expression of achaete-scute homolog 3 in Xenopus embryos converts ectodermal cells to a neural fate.
1994,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Wilson,
The T-box family.
2002,
Pubmed
Xanthos,
Maternal VegT is the initiator of a molecular network specifying endoderm in Xenopus laevis.
2001,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Yamada,
Highly conserved functions of the Brachyury gene on morphogenetic movements: insight from the early-diverging phylum Ctenophora.
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
