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Molecular evolution of skin appendages

Molecular evolution of skin appendages

Leopold Eckhart (ORCID: 0000-0002-5645-2036)
  • Grant DOI 10.55776/P36596
  • Funding program Principal Investigator Projects
  • Status ongoing
  • Start March 1, 2023
  • End February 28, 2026
  • Funding amount € 294,315
  • E-mail

Disciplines

Biology (100%)

Keywords

    Evolution

Abstract

The evolution of cornified skin appendages, such as claws and hair, was critical for the evolution of land-dwelling vertebrates. Hair, which is the best characterized type of skin appendage, depends on its main protein components, the hair keratins, and on Hoxc13, a regulator of keratin gene expression. The molecular control of other skin appendages and their evolutionary relationships are not well understood. The aim of the present project is to gain insights into the evolutionary origin of the genetic program which controls the growth and protein composition of cornified skin appendages. We hypothesize that hair keratin-like proteins and their regulation by Hoxc13 have originated already during the water-to-land transition of early tetrapods. Accordingly, they are predicted to play critical roles not only in hair but also in cornified skin appendages of amphibians. To test these hypotheses, we will determine the protein composition of claws and the effect of Hoxc13 deletion in a model species, the western clawed frog. The genetic control of claws will be compared among representative species from all main clades of tetrapods. This project will inform about key steps in the evolution of cornified skin appendages in terrestrial vertebrates.

Research institution(s)
  • Medizinische Universität Wien - 100%
International project participants
  • Kris Vleminckx, Ghent University - Belgium

Research Output

  • 15 Citations
  • 7 Publications
Publications
  • 2025
    Title Convergent Evolution of Cysteine-Rich Keratins in Horny Teeth of Jawless Vertebrates and in Cornified Skin Appendages of Amniotes
    DOI 10.1093/molbev/msaf028
    Type Journal Article
    Author Sachslehner A
    Journal Molecular Biology and Evolution
    Link Publication
  • 2025
    Title Skin Appendage Proteins of Tetrapods: Building Blocks of Claws, Feathers, Hair and Other Cornified Epithelial Structures
    DOI 10.3390/ani15030457
    Type Journal Article
    Author Holthaus K
    Journal Animals
    Pages 457
    Link Publication
  • 2024
    Title Epidermal Differentiation Genes of the Common Wall Lizard Encode Proteins with Extremely Biased Amino Acid Contents
    DOI 10.3390/genes15091136
    Type Journal Article
    Author Holthaus K
    Journal Genes
    Pages 1136
    Link Publication
  • 2024
    Title The Evolution of Transglutaminases Underlies the Origin and Loss of Cornified Skin Appendages in Vertebrates
    DOI 10.1093/molbev/msae100
    Type Journal Article
    Author Sachslehner A
    Journal Molecular Biology and Evolution
    Link Publication
  • 2024
    Title Cell differentiation in the embryonic periderm and in scaffolding epithelia of skin appendages
    DOI 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.07.002
    Type Journal Article
    Author Eckhart L
    Journal Developmental Biology
    Pages 60-66
    Link Publication
  • 2024
    Title Evolutionary origin of Hoxc13-dependent skin appendages in amphibians
    DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46373-x
    Type Journal Article
    Author Carron M
    Journal Nature Communications
    Pages 2328
    Link Publication
  • 2024
    Title Convergent Evolution Has Led to the Loss of Claw Proteins in Snakes and Worm Lizards
    DOI 10.1093/gbe/evae274
    Type Journal Article
    Author Holthaus K
    Journal Genome Biology and Evolution
    Link Publication

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