Work

Convergent deployment of ancestral functions during the evolution of mammalian flight membranes

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Lateral flight membranes, or patagia, have evolved repeatedly in diverse mammalian lineages. While little is known about patagium development, its recurrent evolution may suggest a shared molecular basis. By combining transcriptomics, developmental experiments, and mouse transgenics, we demonstrate that lateral WNT5A expression in the marsupial sugar glider ( Petaurus breviceps ) promotes the differentiation of its patagium primordium. We further show that this function of WNT5A reprises ancestral roles in skin morphogenesis predating mammalian flight and has been convergently employed during patagium evolution in eutherian bats. Moreover, we find that many genes involved in limb development have been re-deployed during patagium outgrowth in both the sugar glider and bat. Taken together, our findings reveal that deeply conserved molecular toolkits underpin the evolutionary transition to flight in mammals.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7511

Authors: Charles Y. Feigin, Jorge A. Moreno, Raul Ramos, Sarah A. Mereby, Ares Alivisatos, Wei Wang, Renée van Amerongen, Jasmin Camacho, John J. Rasweiler, Richard R. Behringer, Bruce Ostrow, Maksim V. Plikus, Ricardo Mallarino

Institutions: The University of Melbourne, Princeton University, University of California, Irvine, University of Amsterdam, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Grand Valley State University

Language: English

Topic: Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Awards: How to build a gliding mammal: Using natural phenotypic variation to define the molecular regulation of tissue morphogenesis, Multiscale Models of Wound Cell Plasticity for Regeneration, Blastema-independent Mechanism for Regeneration in Salamanders, Using naturally evolved phenotypic variation to decipher the positional regulatory code of mammalian skin, Skin Biology Resource-Based Center at UCI, Tissue Size and Precision Control in Growing Hair Follicles

OpenAlex ID: W4360828754

FWCI: 2.665

Cites: 67

Cited by: 30

Related to: 10