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Evolution of vertebrates as viewed from the crest

Abstract

The origin of vertebrates was accompanied by the advent of a novel cell type: the neural crest. Emerging from the central nervous system, these cells migrate to diverse locations and differentiate into numerous derivatives. By coupling morphological and gene regulatory information from vertebrates and other chordates, we describe how addition of the neural-crest-specification program may have enabled cells at the neural plate border to acquire multipotency and migratory ability. Analysis of the topology of the neural crest gene regulatory network can serve as a useful template for understanding vertebrate evolution, including elaboration of neural crest derivatives.

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Figure 1: Gene regulatory interactions controlling vertebrate neural crest formation and the tunicate a9.49 cell lineage.
Figure 2: Schematic cladogram of chordate features associated with neural crest cells or their derivatives.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank H. Parker, C. Rogers and L. Kerosuo for their comments and helpful discussion on this manuscript. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R01NS086907. M.S.-C. was funded by a fellowship from the Pew Foundation and by NIH grant 1K99DE024232.

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Correspondence to Marianne E. Bronner.

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Green, S., Simoes-Costa, M. & Bronner, M. Evolution of vertebrates as viewed from the crest. Nature 520, 474–482 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14436

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