Evidence that mechanisms of fin development evolved in the midline of early vertebrates

Renata Freitas, GuangJun Zhang and Martin J. Cohn ()
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Renata Freitas: Department of Zoology
GuangJun Zhang: Department of Zoology
Martin J. Cohn: Department of Zoology

Nature, 2006, vol. 442, issue 7106, 1033-1037

Abstract: Fin Tuning The origin of paired limbs in vertebrates has been an abiding source of interest. A number of recently described fossils from the Lower Cambrian of China suggest that the major components of the fin skeleton were assembled first in the midline and appeared later in paired fins. A study of embryo development in sharks and lampreys shows that sharks' median fins develop from a continuous fin fold derived mainly from paraxial mesoderm and that lampreys -primitive vertebrates that lack paired limbs - have a similar pattern of median fin development. In addition, the expression of the Tbx18 gene, which specifies the anterior limit of the paired forelimbs, also delineates the boundaries of median fin outgrowth. Together these results provide good support for the palaeontological hypothesis that paired appendages evolved by co-opting the median fin developmental program.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04984

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