Research
Octopus suckers hold a surprising clue to how evolution builds new body parts
Earth.com · By Eric Ralls ·
The Brief
- A study compared how octopus arms and suckers are patterned genetically with how insect and mouse legs are.
- Insect and mouse legs are laid out using the same small set of genes, according to the source.
- The genetic instructions for building an octopus arm differ from those used for its suckers.
- None of the limb-patterning genes the team examined were active in forming the suckers, per the source excerpt.
Why it matters
It suggests that animals can build appendage-like structures with different genetic programs than the classic limb-patterning genes, which matters for how evolution builds new body parts.
Who’s affected
- evolutionary and developmental biologists
- #evolution
- #developmental biology
- #octopus
- #gene regulation
- #limb development
Insects and mice lay out their legs with the same small set of genes. The genetic instructions used to grow an octopus arm are different from the ones used to grow the little suction cups on that arm. None of the limb-patterning genes the team examined were active in forming…
Timeline
Earth.com reports on the octopus sucker and arm gene study
Earth.com
Octopus suckers hold a surprising clue to how evolution builds new body parts