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Evolutionary biology

Origin of the spider's head

Nature volume 395, pages 436–437 (1998)Cite this article

Comparing the structure of the head between different classes of arthropod has been controversial and often frustrating, yet it can tell us about the origins and relatedness of these different classes. The heads of crustaceans, myriapods and insects contain a characteristic set of at least five segments, which are thought to be homologous among these groups. But the morphology of chelicerates — which include spiders, scorpions, mites and horseshoe crabs — gives no good clues about the relationship of their segments to the head segments of other arthropods. Now, however, studies based on the expression of developmental genes by Damen et al.1 and Telford and Thomas2, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide convincing evidence for previously unexpected homologies.

Damen et al.1 and Telford and Thomas2 now provide evidence that comes not from the morphology itself, but from the genes that generate that morphology. They studied the Hox (homeotic) genes, which are known to specify the identity of the different types of segment within the body of insects3. These genes are particularly attractive for distant evolutionary comparisons of segment specialization3,4,5 because their function seems to be widely conserved (in animals as diverse as arthropods, vertebrates and nematodes), and their activity is faithfully reflected by restricted expression in particular regions of the body. Different classes of arthropod have almost identical sets of Hox genes3,4,5, but these are expressed differently in animals that have distinct patterns of segmental specialization4,5,6. Similarities in the expression of these genes have been used as evidence for a common origin (homology) of the corresponding specialized types of segment4.

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Figure 1: The prosoma of a horseshoe crab (ventral view).
Figure 2: Expression of Hox genes and inferred relationships among anterior body segments in different arthropods.

References

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  1. the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH, Vassilika Vouton, Iraklio, 711 10, Crete, Greece

    Michalis Averof

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  1. Michalis Averof
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Averof, M. Origin of the spider's head. Nature 395, 436–437 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/26613

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