title: The evolution of the Wnt pathway.
abstract: Wnt genes are important regulators of embryogenesis and cell differentiation in vertebrates and insects. New data revealed by comparative genomics have now shown that members of the Wnt signaling pathway can be found in all clades of metazoans, but not in fungi, plants, or unicellular eukaryotes. This article focuses on new data from recent genomic analyses of several basal metazoan organisms, providing evidence that the Wnt pathway was a primordial signaling pathway during evolution. The formation of a Wnt signaling center at the site of gastrulation was instrumental for the formation of a primary, anterior-posterior body axis, which can be traced throughout animal evolution.
authors: Department of Molecular Evolution and Genomics, Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. thomas.holstein@cos.uni-heidelberg.de
authors: Thomas W
authors: TW
authors: Holstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051153:Wnt Proteins