Genomes of diploblastic organisms contain homeoboxes: sequence of eveC, an even-skipped homologue from the cnidarian Acropora formosa.
We report the nucleotide sequence of eveC, a cnidarian eve-class homeobox; this is the first homeobox to be identified in any diploblastic organism, and is only the second eve-class in an invertebrate. Similarity between the predicted amino acid sequence of the eveC homeodomain and its insect and vertebrate equivalents was approximately 75-80% but, in the case of eveC, a role in segmentation can be ruled out. Our findings thus support the 'co-option' hypothesis: homeoboxes were an early feature of metazoan genomes, corresponding to the DNA-binding domains of more general transcription factors.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Australia.
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Miles
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Miller
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003063:Cnidaria / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C052837:eve protein, Drosophila; D004247:DNA