GIRDLE EVO-DEVO

Still Connected: Evolutionary implications of the separation of the head from pectoral girdle in tetrapods and their fish relatives

Coordinatore	NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM    more  Organization address address: CROMWELL ROAD city: LONDON postcode: SW7 5BD contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Zerina Cognome: Johanson Email: send email Telefono: +44 207 9425785 Fax: +44 207 9425841
Nazionalità Coordinatore	United Kingdom [UK]
Totale costo	174˙240 €
EC contributo	174˙240 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IIF
Funding Scheme	MC-IIF
Anno di inizio	2010
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2010-05-04   -   2012-05-03

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM  Organization address address: CROMWELL ROAD city: LONDON postcode: SW7 5BD contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Zerina Cognome: Johanson Email: send email Telefono: +44 207 9425785 Fax: +44 207 9425841	UK (LONDON)	coordinator	174˙240.80

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Separation of the shoulders from the head to create a functional neck was an important step in the conquest of land, as it is crucial for land-living vertebrates (tetrapods) to move their heads freely from the body. The origin and evolution of the neck is currently a research area of considerable interest, with in-depth molecular analysis performed in both the chicken and the mouse (derived tetrapods). What this research shows is that although the shoulders are freed from the head, they are still connected via a network of muscles, and that the development of these muscles is controlled by a specialised group of cells known as neural crest cells. However, comparative studies on this region in fish ancestors, lacking a functional neck, have not been performed. Did these features evolve in response to the separation of the head from the shoulders? Or, are the same muscles and developmental mechanisms present in fish ancestors lacking a neck (head and shoulders connected by a series of bones)? To answer these questions, we will study representatives of more primitive tetrapods and fish ancestors to the tetrapods, including the paddlefish, the Australian lungfish, and the Mexican axolotl. This research will be done in conjunction with project partners in the USA, Australia and Germany. In our experiments, we will use several different types of markers to track migration and development of muscles, neural crest cells, and the skull and shoulder girdle bones, and how these interact during early ontogeny. Our hypothesis is that the results in the muscle connectivity observed in the chicken and mouse will also be present in these fish and tetrapod ancestors, with the involvement of the same (homologous) muscles, and moreover, that neural crest cells will be involved in the development of these muscles and the bones to which they connect.'