Maintenance of ancestral complexity and non-metazoan genes in two basal cnidarians.
Cnidarians are among the simplest extant animals; however EST analyses reveal that they have a remarkably high level of genetic complexity. In this article, we show that the full diversity of metazoan signaling pathways is represented in this phylum, as are antagonists previously known only in chordates. Many of the cnidarian ESTs match genes previously known only in non-animal kingdoms. At least some of these represent ancient genes lost by all bilaterians examined so far, rather than genes gained by recent lateral gene transfer.
Technau
Ulrich
U
Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway. ulrich.technau@sars.uib.no
Rudd
Stephen
S
Maxwell
Peter
P
Gordon
Paul M K
PM
Saina
Michael
M
Grasso
Lauretta C
LC
Hayward
David C
DC
Sensen
Christoph W
CW
Saint
Robert
R
Holstein
Thomas W
TW
Ball
Eldon E
EE
Miller
David J
DJ
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020131:Genes, Duplicate; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C078564:universal stress protein A, Bacteria