Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians
Abstract Cornified skin appendages, such as hair and nails, are major evolutionary innovations of terrestrial vertebrates. Human hair and nails consist largely of special intermediate filament proteins, known as hair keratins, which are expressed under the control of the transcription factor Hoxc13....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46373-x |
| _version_ | 1827310161173151744 |
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| author | Marjolein Carron Attila Placido Sachslehner Munevver Burcu Cicekdal Inge Bruggeman Suzan Demuynck Bahar Golabi Elfride De Baere Wim Declercq Erwin Tschachler Kris Vleminckx Leopold Eckhart |
| author_facet | Marjolein Carron Attila Placido Sachslehner Munevver Burcu Cicekdal Inge Bruggeman Suzan Demuynck Bahar Golabi Elfride De Baere Wim Declercq Erwin Tschachler Kris Vleminckx Leopold Eckhart |
| author_sort | Marjolein Carron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cornified skin appendages, such as hair and nails, are major evolutionary innovations of terrestrial vertebrates. Human hair and nails consist largely of special intermediate filament proteins, known as hair keratins, which are expressed under the control of the transcription factor Hoxc13. Here, we show that the cornified claws of Xenopus frogs contain homologs of hair keratins and the genes encoding these keratins are flanked by promoters in which binding sites of Hoxc13 are conserved. Furthermore, these keratins and Hoxc13 are co-expressed in the claw-forming epithelium of frog toe tips. Upon deletion of hoxc13, the expression of hair keratin homologs is abolished and the development of cornified claws is abrogated in X. tropicalis. These results indicate that Hoxc13-dependent expression of hair keratin homologs evolved already in stem tetrapods, presumably as a mechanism for protecting toe tips, and that this ancestral genetic program was coopted to the growth of hair in mammals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:55:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a710d9a58fc84d2b8c16e5cff7cd038f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:55:13Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-a710d9a58fc84d2b8c16e5cff7cd038f2024-03-24T12:25:11ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-03-0115111210.1038/s41467-024-46373-xEvolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibiansMarjolein Carron0Attila Placido Sachslehner1Munevver Burcu Cicekdal2Inge Bruggeman3Suzan Demuynck4Bahar Golabi5Elfride De Baere6Wim Declercq7Erwin Tschachler8Kris Vleminckx9Leopold Eckhart10Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaDepartment of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University and Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University HospitalDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaDepartment of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaAbstract Cornified skin appendages, such as hair and nails, are major evolutionary innovations of terrestrial vertebrates. Human hair and nails consist largely of special intermediate filament proteins, known as hair keratins, which are expressed under the control of the transcription factor Hoxc13. Here, we show that the cornified claws of Xenopus frogs contain homologs of hair keratins and the genes encoding these keratins are flanked by promoters in which binding sites of Hoxc13 are conserved. Furthermore, these keratins and Hoxc13 are co-expressed in the claw-forming epithelium of frog toe tips. Upon deletion of hoxc13, the expression of hair keratin homologs is abolished and the development of cornified claws is abrogated in X. tropicalis. These results indicate that Hoxc13-dependent expression of hair keratin homologs evolved already in stem tetrapods, presumably as a mechanism for protecting toe tips, and that this ancestral genetic program was coopted to the growth of hair in mammals.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46373-x |
| spellingShingle | Marjolein Carron Attila Placido Sachslehner Munevver Burcu Cicekdal Inge Bruggeman Suzan Demuynck Bahar Golabi Elfride De Baere Wim Declercq Erwin Tschachler Kris Vleminckx Leopold Eckhart Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians Nature Communications |
| title | Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| title_full | Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| title_fullStr | Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| title_short | Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| title_sort | evolutionary origin of hoxc13 dependent skin appendages in amphibians |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46373-x |
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