Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, USA.
Department of Neuroscience and McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2024;2757:491-508. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3642-8_20.
Transcription factors (TFs) play a pivotal role as regulators of gene expression, orchestrating the formation and maintenance of diverse animal body plans and innovations. However, the precise contributions of TFs and the underlying mechanisms driving the origin of basal metazoan body plans, particularly in ctenophores, remain elusive. Here, we present a comprehensive catalog of TFs in 2 ctenophore species, Pleurobrachia bachei and Mnemiopsis leidyi, revealing 428 and 418 TFs in their respective genomes. In contrast, morphologically simpler metazoans have a reduced TF representation compared to ctenophores, cnidarians, and bilaterians: the sponge Amphimedon encodes 277 TFs, and the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens encodes 274 TFs. The emergence of complex ctenophore tissues and organs coincides with significant lineage-specific diversification of the zinc finger C2H2 (ZF-C2H2) and homeobox superfamilies of TFs. Notable, the lineages leading to Amphimedon and Trichoplax exhibit independent expansions of leucine zipper (BZIP) TFs. Some lineage-specific TFs may have evolved through the domestication of mobile elements, thereby supporting alternative mechanisms of parallel TF evolution and body plan diversification across the Metazoa.
转录因子 (TFs) 在基因表达调控中发挥着关键作用，协调着各种动物体计划和创新的形成和维持。然而，TFs 的精确贡献以及驱动基础后生动物体计划起源的潜在机制，特别是在栉水母中，仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们展示了 2 种栉水母物种（Pleurobrachia bachei 和 Mnemiopsis leidyi）的 TF 综合目录，揭示了它们各自基因组中的 428 和 418 个 TF。相比之下，形态上更简单的后生动物与栉水母、刺胞动物和两侧对称动物相比，TF 的表达减少：海绵 Amphimedon 编码 277 个 TF，扁盘动物 Trichoplax adhaerens 编码 274 个 TF。复杂栉水母组织和器官的出现与锌指 C2H2 (ZF-C2H2) 和 TF 同源盒超家族的显著谱系特异性多样化相一致。值得注意的是，导致 Amphimedon 和 Trichoplax 的谱系表现出亮氨酸拉链 (BZIP) TF 的独立扩张。一些谱系特异性 TF 可能是通过移动元件的驯化而进化的，从而支持了 Metazoa 中平行 TF 进化和体计划多样化的替代机制。
