Developmental evolution: this side of paradise.
It has long been appreciated that the evolution of snakes involved the loss of limbs and axis elongation, but their developmental basis has been obscure. It has now been shown that alterations in the deployment of Hox genes and an early block in the formation of hindlimb primordia underpin these modifications.
Graham
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A
Molecular Neurobiology Group 4th Floor Hodgkin Building Kings College London Guys Campus London, SE1 9RT, UK. anthony.graham@kcl.ac.uk
McGonnell
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I
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005552:Forelimb / Q000196:embryology*; D005580:Fossils; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000196:embryology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000637:transplantation; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D012104:Reptiles / Q000145:classification / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012911:Snakes / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous