Evolutionary history of the Snail/Scratch superfamily.
The Snail transcription factors have crucial roles in metazoan development and disease. A phylogenetic analysis from placozoans to humans confirms that, along with the Scratch genes, Snail genes constitute a subgroup of the C(2)H(2) zinc-finger transcription factors, within which neither the SNAG domain nor the number of fingers define group identities. Independent duplications in the different metazoan groups gave rise to the current complement of Snail genes, and the origin of the Snail/Scratch family can be traced back to a protosnail gene that underwent tandem duplication in the last common ancestor of Diploblasts and Bilateria.
Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Miguel Hernández, San Juan de Alicante 03550 Spain. abarrallo@umh.es
Alejandro
A
Barrallo-Gimeno
M Angela
MA
Nieto
D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000502:physiology
D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors