The developmental origins of heterodonty and acrodonty as revealed by reptile dentitions
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: mutants showing the first vertebrate example of positional transformation in tooth identity, to assess the developmental origins and evolutionary patterning of tooth types and heterodonty. We reveal that pleurodont versus acrodont dentition can be determined by a simple mechanism, where modulation of tooth size through EDA signaling has major consequences on dental formula, thereby providing a new flexible tooth patterning model. Furthermore, such implication of morphoregulation in tooth evolution allows predicting the dental patterns characterizing extant and fossil lepidosaurian taxa at large scale. Together, the origins and diversification of tooth types, long a focus of multiple research fields, can now be approached through evo-devo approaches, highlighting the importance of underexplored dental features for illuminating major evolutionary patterns.
Source: Science Advances
Institutions: University of Helsinki, HiLIFE – Elämäntieteiden Instituutti
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,341
OpenAlex ID: W4200124635