Journal
GENE
Volume 340, Issue 2, Pages 291-301Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2004.07.021
Keywords
evolution; Metazoa; phylogeny; T-box
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The Brachyury family of T-domain containing transcription factor has been recently the subject of a number of Evo-Devo studies, with expression data obtained from a wide sampling of eumetazans, pointing to a possible conserved role in the formation of the blastopore and the extremities of the digestive tract. Here we present a comparative analysis of Brachyury sequences at the metazoan scale, using published data and two new sponge Brachyury sequences. Alignment features, gene phylogeny, and the evolution of variable positions within the T-domain are discussed in the light of available data about functional constraints on the residues. Interestingly, the high sequence divergence observed in Brachyury T-domains from sponges appears to be mostly the consequence of autapomorphic changes within the sponge lineages, rather than the retention of primitive character states. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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