- Article -
| In Silico Biology 7, 0047 (2007); ©2007, Bioinformation Systems e.V. |
The evolution of the Hh-signaling pathway genes: a computer-assisted study
Konstantin V. Gunbin1*, Dmitrij A. Afonnikov1,2 and Nikolay A. Kolchanov1
1 Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Ave. 10, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
2 Novosibirsk State Unversity, Pirogova Str. 2, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
* Corresponding author
Email: genkvg@bionet.nsc.ru
Edited by S. Rodin (guest editor) and N. Kolchanov; received January 20, 2007; revised and accepted March 29, 2007; published August 19, 2007
Abstract
Positive selection of genes that comprise signaling cascades and play the paramount role in the development of multicellular organisms is critical to our understanding of the reasons for the evolution of embryonic development. In this work, we analyze the evolution of 9 genes involved in the function of the Hh signaling cascade. We demonstrated that positive selection is a characteristic feature of the protein domains, encoded by gene regions, whose functions are related to the molecular mechanisms of development. We also found that the positive selection of Hh-signaling cascade transcription factors, morphogens, their development-related receptors and intracellular signal transduction factors are related to the divergence of the Bilateria taxonomic types.
Keywords: Hh-signaling cascade, positive selection, Bilateria, compensatory changes