@article{ART003322100},
author={WON HYUNG JIN and Jeong-Oh Shin},
title={Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks},
journal={Anatomy & Biological Anthropology},
issn={2671-5651},
year={2026},
volume={39},
number={1},
pages={1-13},
doi={10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1}
TY - JOUR
AU - WON HYUNG JIN
AU - Jeong-Oh Shin
TI - Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks
JO - Anatomy & Biological Anthropology
PY - 2026
VL - 39
IS - 1
PB - 대한체질인류학회
SP - 1
EP - 13
SN - 2671-5651
AB - The vertebrate limb is the archetypal example of evolutionary novelty. The evolution of limbs from ancestral sarcopterygian fins enabled vertebrates to conquer the land some 375 million years ago, enabling tetrapods to occupy virtually all terrestrial environments. To fully understand how this evolutionary transition occurred, it is necessary to integrate paleontological, molecular, and genomic discoveries that have been accumulating since the modern fields of paleontology and molecular biology were founded decades ago. Here we review the origin and evolution of limbs within the unifying framework of deep homology and regulatory divergence. We show that limb diversity is generated by the dynamic interplay between an ancient genetic toolkit and changes to cis-regulatory modules that control its spatial and temporal deployment. We first cover fossils that have captured the gradual acquisition of skeletal innovations leading to vertebrate limbs, such as Elpistostege, Tiktaalik, and Acanthostega. Then we discuss the central molecular components of the vertebrate limb developmental program: the biphasic Hox code, the Shh/Fgf signaling feedback loop, and retinoic acid and BMP signaling during limb axis patterning. Lastly, we showcase how modifications to this conserved developmental program through changes in cis-regulatory DNA has sculpted limbs into dramatically diverse forms — wings and flippers, horse hooves, snakes — including the elimination of limbs entirely. By weaving together these lines of evidence, this review presents a cohesive narrative of how a single ancestral blueprint, through the tinkering of its regulatory logic, can generate nearly infinite morphological variation.
KW - Limb evolution;Fin-to-limb transition;Deep homology;Hox genes;Signaling molecules
DO - 10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
ER -
WON HYUNG JIN and Jeong-Oh Shin. (2026). Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks. Anatomy & Biological Anthropology, 39(1), 1-13.
WON HYUNG JIN and Jeong-Oh Shin. 2026, "Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks", Anatomy & Biological Anthropology, vol.39, no.1 pp.1-13. Available from: doi:10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN, Jeong-Oh Shin "Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks" Anatomy & Biological Anthropology 39.1 pp.1-13 (2026) : 1.
WON HYUNG JIN, Jeong-Oh Shin. Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks. 2026; 39(1), 1-13. Available from: doi:10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN and Jeong-Oh Shin. "Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks" Anatomy & Biological Anthropology 39, no.1 (2026) : 1-13.doi: 10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN; Jeong-Oh Shin. Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks. Anatomy & Biological Anthropology, 39(1), 1-13. doi: 10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN; Jeong-Oh Shin. Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks. Anatomy & Biological Anthropology. 2026; 39(1) 1-13. doi: 10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN, Jeong-Oh Shin. Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks. 2026; 39(1), 1-13. Available from: doi:10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
WON HYUNG JIN and Jeong-Oh Shin. "Evolutionary and Developmental Integration of the Fin-to-Limb Transition through Conserved Gene Regulatory Networks" Anatomy & Biological Anthropology 39, no.1 (2026) : 1-13.doi: 10.11637/aba.2026.39.1.1
