title: Maintenance of ancestral complexity and non-metazoan genes in two basal cnidarians.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway. ulrich.technau@sars.uib.no
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Technau
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rudd
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: Paul M K
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saina
authors.forename: Lauretta C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Grasso
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: Christoph W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Sensen
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saint
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Holstein
authors.forename: Eldon E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C078564:universal stress protein A, Bacteria