title: All the three ParaHox genes are present in Nuttallochiton mirandus (Mollusca: polyplacophora): evolutionary considerations.
abstract: The ParaHox gene cluster contains three homeobox genes, Gsx, Xlox and Cdx and has been demonstrated to be an evolutionary sister of the Hox gene cluster. Among deuterostomes the three genes are found in the majority of taxa, whereas among protostomes they have so far been isolated only in the phylum Sipuncula. We report the partial sequences of all three ParaHox genes in the polyplacophoran Nuttallochiton mirandus, the first species of the phylum Mollusca where all ParaHox genes have been isolated. This finding has phylogenetic implications for the phylum Mollusca and for its relationships with the other lophotrochozoan taxa.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biologia e Genetica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barucca
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Biscotti
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olmo
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canapa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D049916:Polyplacophora / Q000235:genetics*