ArticleNature2014
A relative shift in cloacal location repositions external genitalia in amniote evolution.
Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 91 citations in OpenAlex.
- The cloacal outgrowth orchestrates co-development of the bladder and umbilical arteries.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
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- Distinct gene regulatory dynamics drive skeletogenic cell fate convergence during vertebrate embryogenesis.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Ventral body wall closure: Mechanistic insights from mouse models and translation to human pathology.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2025Review
- Article
- Sonic hedgehog and fibroblast growth factor 8 regulate the evolution of amniote facial proportions.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Comparative transcriptomics in serial organs uncovers early and pan-organ developmental changes associated with organ-specific morphological adaptation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Tgfbr1 controls developmental plasticity between the hindlimb and external genitalia by remodeling their regulatory landscape.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Direct reprogramming of non-limb fibroblasts to cells with properties of limb progenitors.Developmental cell · 2024Article
- Assessing evolutionary and developmental transcriptome dynamics in homologous cell types.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2022Article
- A Review and Case Study of 3D Imaging Modalities for Female Amniote Reproductive Anatomy.Integrative and comparative biology · 2022Article
- Theories, laws, and models in evo-devo.Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution · 2022Review
- Limb positioning and initiation: An evolutionary context of pattern and formation.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2021Review
- Single cell transcriptomic analysis of external genitalia reveals complex and sexually dimorphic cell populations in the early genital tubercle.Developmental biology · 2021Article
- Diversification of the vertebrate limb: sequencing the events.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2021Review
- Meeting report on the NIDDK/AUA Workshop on Congenital Anomalies of External Genitalia: challenges and opportunities for translational research.Journal of pediatric urology · 2020Review
- A complex regulatory landscape involved in the development of mammalian external genitals.eLife · 2020Article
- Discrete Hedgehog Factor Expression and Action in the Developing Phallus.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Article
- Pigeon foot feathering reveals conserved limb identity networks.Developmental biology · 2019Article
- CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing in Lizards through Microinjection of Unfertilized Oocytes.Cell reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The move of vertebrates to a terrestrial lifestyle required major adaptations in their locomotory apparatus and reproductive organs. While the fin-to-limb transition has received considerable attention, little is known about the developmental and evolutionary origins of external genitalia. Similarities in gene expression have been interpreted as a potential evolutionary link between the limb and genitals; however, no underlying developmental mechanism has been identified. We re-examined this question using micro-computed tomography, lineage tracing in three amniote clades, and RNA-sequencing-based transcriptional profiling. Here we show that the developmental origin of external genitalia has shifted through evolution, and in some taxa limbs and genitals share a common primordium. In squamates, the genitalia develop directly from the budding hindlimbs, or the remnants thereof, whereas in mice the genital tubercle originates from the ventral and tail bud mesenchyme. The recruitment of different cell populations for genital outgrowth follows a change in the relative position of the cloaca, the genitalia organizing centre. Ectopic grafting of the cloaca demonstrates the conserved ability of different mesenchymal cells to respond to these genitalia-inducing signals. Our results support a limb-like developmental origin of external genitalia as the ancestral condition. Moreover, they suggest that a change in the relative position of the cloacal signalling centre during evolution has led to an altered developmental route for external genitalia in mammals, while preserving parts of the ancestral limb molecular circuitry owing to a common evolutionary origin.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.