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Germ layers, the neural crest and emergent organization in development and evolution
Author(s) -
Hall Brian K.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
genesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.093
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1526-968X
pISSN - 1526-954X
DOI - 10.1002/dvg.23103
Subject(s) - neural crest , biology , vertebrate , mesoderm , mesenchyme , neural plate , neural fold , germ layer , evolutionary developmental biology , evolutionary biology , anatomy , neural tube , organogenesis , genetics , embryo , gene , embryonic stem cell , induced pluripotent stem cell
Summary Discovered in chick embryos by Wilhelm His in 1868 and named the neural crest by Arthur Milnes Marshall in 1879, the neural crest cells that arise from the neural folds have since been shown to differentiate into almost two dozen vertebrate cell types and to have played major roles in the evolution of such vertebrate features as bone, jaws, teeth, visceral (pharyngeal) arches, and sense organs. I discuss the discovery that ectodermal neural crest gave rise to mesenchyme and the controversy generated by that finding; the germ layer theory maintained that only mesoderm could give rise to mesenchyme. A second topic of discussion is germ layers (including the neural crest) as emergent levels of organization in animal development and evolution that facilitated major developmental and evolutionary change. The third topic is gene networks, gene co‐option, and the evolution of gene‐signaling pathways as key to developmental and evolutionary transitions associated with the origin and evolution of the neural crest and neural crest cells.