Navigation Links
Conquest of land began in shark genome
Date:8/14/2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. When the first four-legged animals sprouted fingers and toes, they took an ancient genetic recipe and simply extended the cooking time, say University of Florida scientists writing in Wednesdays issue of the journal PLoS ONE.

Even sharks which have existed for more than half a billion years have the recipe for fingers in their genetic cookbook not to eat them, but to grow them.

While studying the mechanisms of development in shark embryos, UF scientists identified a spurt of genetic activity that is required for digit development in limbed animals.

Previous work suggested that the transition from fins to limbs involved the addition of a late phase of gene activity during embryonic development, something thought to be absent during the development of fish fins.

The finding shows what was thought to be a relatively recent evolutionary innovation existed eons earlier than previously believed, shedding light on how life on Earth developed and potentially providing insight for scientists seeking ways to cure human birth defects, which affect about 150,000 infants annually in the United States.

Weve uncovered a surprising degree of genetic complexity in place at an early point in the evolution of appendages, said developmental biologist Martin Cohn, Ph.D., an associate professor with the UF departments of zoology and anatomy and cell biology and a member of the UF Genetics Institute. Genetic processes were not simple in early aquatic vertebrates only to become more complex as the animals adapted to terrestrial living. They were complex from the outset. Some major evolutionary innovations, like digits at the end of limbs, may have been achieved by prolonging the activity of a genetic program that existed in a common ancestor of sharks and bony fishes.

Researchers say the same genes that produced ancient fins likely enlarged their role about 365 million years ago in amphibians struggling to
'/>"/>

Contact: John Pastor
jdpastor@ufl.edu
352-273-5815
University of Florida
Source:Eurekalert

2

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Great White shark evolution debate involves WSU Lake Campus geology professor
2. Shark attack worries? Driving to the beach is more deadly
3. Plankton can run, but cant hide from basking sharks
4. Shark skin saves naval industry money
5. Oceans are 70 percent shark free
6. World shark attacks dipped in 2005, part of long-term trend
7. UF scientists trace origin of sharks electric sense
8. Ongoing collapse of coral reef shark populations
9. Triple threat: World fin trade may harvest up to 73 million sharks per year
10. Overfishing large sharks impacts entire marine ecosystem, shrinks shellfish supply
11. New research shows sharks use their noses and bodies to locate smells
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/17/2013)... iCargo project (Intelligent Cargo in Efficient and Sustainable Global ... to an improvement in the efficiency of intermodal loading ... decision making. It comprises 29 European organisations with experience ... It has a budget totalling 17,000,000 and a duration ... working to specify and develop the semantic components and ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... (May 17, 2013) Illustrating a commitment to ... American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Foundation has announced ... Research Fellowship Award recipients. Supported by the National ... (NIDDK), this new award helps underrepresented minority students ... and nutrition research. , "By establishing this new ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... For decades, scientists have used ancient shorelines to predict the ... Markings of a high shoreline from three million years ago, ... period were thought to be evidence of a high ... This assumption has led many scientists to think that if ... they may do just the same in our modern, progressively ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):New logistics services that will cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions 2Underrepresented minority students receive fellowships in digestive disease and nutrition research 2World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed 2
... train wreck that is stroke, the cutoff of oxygen kills ... by overexciting receptors on the surface of brain cells. Now, ... have discovered how an insidious chain of molecular events contributes ... 2005, issue of Neuron, Jun Gao and colleagues say that ...
... track the source of illegal drugs, explosives, counterfeit bills ... detecting rapidly growing cancers and studying obesity and eating ... mass spectrometry," can determine where a substance was produced ... in the substance ?such as the ratio of rare ...
... Visit this webpage for pictures and videos! ... known as sea lilies look a lot like their garden-variety ... that sea lilies stayed rooted instead of moving around like ... taken from a submersible research vessel at a depth of ...
Cached Biology News:Molecular cabal contributes to stroke damage 2War on terror meets war on cancer 2War on terror meets war on cancer 3War on terror meets war on cancer 4War on terror meets war on cancer 5War on terror meets war on cancer 6U. of Colorado researcher identifies tracks of swimming dinosaur in Wyoming 2U. of Colorado researcher identifies tracks of swimming dinosaur in Wyoming 3
(Date:5/17/2013)... Frederick, MD (PRWEB) May 17, 2013 ... release of ezColony version 4.1, a versatile refinement ... world-class premier software solution, improves its advanced methodical ... animal facilities with ezColony 4.1. The network-based platform ... to conduct effective research. While continuing to emphasize ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... Tooth decay is an epidemic in American children ... disease. The World Health Organization says that worldwide, 60–90% ... cavities. What are the long-term effects of this transmissible infection? ... between the oral bacterial imbalance and serious systemic issues like ... it is also 100% preventable? Answer: there has been no ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... (PRWEB) May 16, 2013 Oven Industries, ... temperature controllers and temperature sensors since 1964. ... used in industrial control system applications. As ... device includes a generic, control loop feedback system, which ... expertly used to adjust a systematic process, using a ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... 2013 Cambridge Healthtech Institute will host ... 2013 at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. ... close-up look at the current strategies and innovations for ... Leaders in the field will reveal how their ... with greater specificity and efficiency. , “In this age ...
Breaking Biology Technology:RURO Introduces ezColony 4.1 – The Versatile Transgenic Animal Colony Management Software 2Seeing the Future: How a Revolutionary New Bacterial Screening Device Can Predict a Patient’s Future for Tooth Decay 2Seeing the Future: How a Revolutionary New Bacterial Screening Device Can Predict a Patient’s Future for Tooth Decay 3New PID Temperature Controllers Announced by Oven Industries Inc. 2The 2013 Bioprocessing Summit to Bring Together International Leaders to Discuss Today's Bioprocess Issues From Cell Line Selection to Manufacturing in Boston, MA 2
... effort focuses on Indiana,s depth, breadth and leadership in ... , INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 16 ... under Governor Mitch Daniels, leadership, and Indiana,s five independent ... BioCrossroads, submitted an application today to receive federal stimulus ...
... BURLINGTON, Massachusetts, October 16 , ... With the,Allen Institute for Brain Science and Used by the ... Place in Chicago,Illinois , Elsevier, the ... today that it will showcase the new,features it is rolling ...
... millions of proteins. These are the building blocks for cells ... that proteins are extremely difficult to study, particularly because there ... sizes and weights. Now, Kris Gevaert from VIB/Ghent University and ... a breakthrough in protein research. Using yeast, they have succeeded ...
Cached Biology Technology:Collaboration of Indiana's Health Information Exchanges, State Organizations Submits Application for Health Information Technology Stimulus Funding 2Collaboration of Indiana's Health Information Exchanges, State Organizations Submits Application for Health Information Technology Stimulus Funding 3Collaboration of Indiana's Health Information Exchanges, State Organizations Submits Application for Health Information Technology Stimulus Funding 4Elsevier's BrainNavigator Research Tool to Launch new Features at Neuroscience 2009 Show 2Elsevier's BrainNavigator Research Tool to Launch new Features at Neuroscience 2009 Show 3Elsevier's BrainNavigator Research Tool to Launch new Features at Neuroscience 2009 Show 4Elsevier's BrainNavigator Research Tool to Launch new Features at Neuroscience 2009 Show 5Powerhouses in the cell dismantled 2
... media and other fluid sources for 8 ... speed of each individual pump is controlled ... are exactly maintained. ,High-precision controlled miniature ... types, which allows flow rates between 0 ...
... chromatography system . The sensitive conductivity detector ... 5000S, houses the measuring cell in a thermostatted ... available. Data processing is provided by the ... by the high pressure CE 4100 dual piston ...
Fujifilm Pictro-Color Process for sharp, clear reproduction comparable to silver-halide photography. Photorealistic 400 dpi quality. A4 and A5 output....
... Continuous flow of media and other fluid ... lab space, The speed of each individual ... flow set points, are exactly maintained. ... with variable tube types, which allows flow ...
Biology Products: