Mammalian-specific ectodermal enhancers control the expression of genes in developing nails and hair follicles.

Vertebrate genes are critical for the establishment of structures during the development of the main body axis. Subsequently, they play important roles either in organizing secondary axial structures such as the appendages, or during homeostasis in postnatal stages and adulthood. Here, we set up to analyze their elusive function in the ectodermal compartment, using the mouse limb bud as a model. We report that the gene cluster was co-opted to be transcribed in the distal limb ectoderm, where it is activated following the rule of temporal colinearity. These ectodermal cells subsequently produce various keratinized organs such as nails or claws. Accordingly, deletion of the cluster led to mice lacking nails (anonychia), a condition stronger than the previously reported loss of function of , which is the causative gene of the ectodermal dysplasia 9 (ECTD9) in human patients. We further identified two mammalian-specific ectodermal enhancers located upstream of the gene cluster, which together regulate gene expression in the hair and nail ectodermal organs. Deletion of these regulatory elements alone or in combination revealed a strong quantitative component in the regulation of genes in the ectoderm, suggesting that these two enhancers may have evolved along with the mammalian taxon to provide the level of HOXC proteins necessary for the full development of hair and nail.