Abstract
BackgroundPluripotency is a fundamental property of early mammalian development but it is currently unclear to what extent its cellular mechanisms are conserved in vertebrates or metazoans. POU5F1 and POU2 are the two principle members constituting the class V POU domain family of transcription factors, thought to have a conserved role in the regulation of pluripotency in vertebrates as well as germ cell maintenance and neural patterning. They have undergone a complex pattern of evolution which is poorly understood and controversial.ResultsBy analyzing the sequences of POU5F1, POU2 and their flanking genes, we provide strong indirect evidence that POU5F1 originated at least as early as a common ancestor of gnathostomes but became extinct in a common ancestor of teleost fishes, while both POU5F1 and POU2 survived in the sarcopterygian lineage leading to tetrapods. Less divergent forms of POU5F1 and POU2 appear to have persisted among cartilaginous fishes.ConclusionsOur study resolves the controversial evolutionary relationship between teleost pou2 and tetrapod POU2 and POU5F1, and shows that class V POU transcription factors have existed at least since the common ancestor of gnathostome vertebrates. It provides a framework for elucidating the basis for the lineage-specific extinctions of POU2 and POU5F1.
Highlights
Pluripotency is a fundamental property of early mammalian development but it is currently unclear to what extent its cellular mechanisms are conserved in vertebrates or metazoans
Identified POU2 and POU5F1 orthologs in vertebrates To gain insight into the origins of the class V POU family of transcription factors in vertebrates, BLAST searches were performed for sequences homologous to mammalian POU2 and POU5F1
POU2 orthologs were identified in many species, including the alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), painted turtle, coelacanth and spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)
Summary
Pluripotency is a fundamental property of early mammalian development but it is currently unclear to what extent its cellular mechanisms are conserved in vertebrates or metazoans. POU5F1 and POU2 are the two principle members constituting the class V POU domain family of transcription factors, thought to have a conserved role in the regulation of pluripotency in vertebrates as well as germ cell maintenance and neural patterning. They have undergone a complex pattern of evolution which is poorly understood and controversial. Deletion of Pou5f1 causes loss of pluripotency in the inner cell mass and differentiation to trophoblast, revealing its earliest developmental role [1]. Conditional knockout of Pou5f1 in mouse primordial germ cells results in their apoptosis [4], showing that the role of POU5F1 is not exclusively restricted to preventing differentiation
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