@article{ForconiCanapaBaruccaetal.2013,
  author    = {Forconi, Mariko and Canapa, Adriana and Barucca, Marco and Biscotti, Maria A. and Capriglione, Teresa and Buonocore, Francesco and Fausto, Anna M. and Makapedua, Daisy M. and Pallavicini, Alberto and Gerdol, Marco and De Moro, Gianluca and Scapigliati, Giuseppe and Olmo, Ettore and Schartl, Manfred},
  title     = {Characterization of Sex Determination and Sex Differentiation Genes in Latimeria},
  series = {PLoS ONE},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {PLoS ONE},
  number    = {4},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0056006},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130995},
  pages     = {e56006},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Genes involved in sex determination and differentiation have been identified in mice, humans, chickens, reptiles, amphibians and teleost fishes. However, little is known of their functional conservation, and it is unclear whether there is a common set of genes shared by all vertebrates. Coelacanths, basal Sarcopterygians and unique "living fossils", could help establish an inventory of the ancestral genes involved in these important developmental processes and provide insights into their components. In this study 33 genes from the genome of Latimeria chalumnae and from the liver and testis transcriptomes of Latimeria menadoensis, implicated in sex determination and differentiation, were identified and characterized and their expression levels measured. Interesting findings were obtained for GSDF, previously identified only in teleosts and now characterized for the first time in the sarcopterygian lineage; FGF9, which is not found in teleosts; and DMRT1, whose expression in adult gonads has recently been related to maintenance of sexual identity. The gene repertoire and testis-specific gene expression documented in coelacanths demonstrate a greater similarity to modern fishes and point to unexpected changes in the gene regulatory network governing sexual development.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BiscottiAdolfiBaruccaetal.2018,
  author    = {Biscotti, Maria Assunta and Adolfi, Mateus Contar and Barucca, Marco and Forconi, Mariko and Pallavicini, Alberto and Gerdol, Marco and Canapa, Adriana and Schartl, Manfred},
  title     = {A comparative view on sex differentiation and gametogenesis genes in lungfish and coelacanths},
  series = {Genome Biology and Evolution},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Genome Biology and Evolution},
  number    = {6},
  doi       = {10.1093/gbe/evy101},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176774},
  pages     = {1430-1444},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Gonadal sex differentiation and reproduction are the keys to the perpetuation of favorable gene combinations and positively selected traits. In vertebrates, several gonad development features that differentiate tetrapods and fishes are likely to be, at least in part, related to the water-to-land transition. The collection of information from basal sarcopterygians, coelacanths, and lungfishes, is crucial to improve our understanding of the molecular evolution of pathways involved in reproductive functions, since these organisms are generally regarded as "living fossils" and as the direct ancestors of tetrapods. Here, we report for the first time the characterization of >50 genes related to sex differentiation and gametogenesis in Latimeria menadoensis and Protopterus annectens. Although the expression profiles of most genes is consistent with the intermediate position of basal sarcopterygians between actinopterygian fish and tetrapods, their phylogenetic placement and presence/absence patterns often reveal a closer affinity to the tetrapod orthologs. On the other hand, particular genes, for example, the male gonad factor gsdf (Gonadal Soma-Derived Factor), provide examples of ancestral traits shared with actinopterygians, which disappeared in the tetrapod lineage.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BiscottiGerdolCanapaetal.2016,
  author    = {Biscotti, Maria Assunta and Gerdol, Marco and Canapa, Adriana and Forconi, Mariko and Olmo, Ettore and Pallavicini, Alberto and Barucca, Marco and Schartl, Manfred},
  title     = {The Lungfish Transcriptome: A Glimpse into Molecular Evolution Events at the Transition from Water to Land},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  number    = {21571},
  doi       = {10.1038/srep21571},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167753},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Lungfish and coelacanths are the only living sarcopterygian fish. The phylogenetic relationship of lungfish to the last common ancestor of tetrapods and their close morphological similarity to their fossil ancestors make this species uniquely interesting. However their genome size, the largest among vertebrates, is hampering the generation of a whole genome sequence. To provide a partial solution to the problem, a high-coverage lungfish reference transcriptome was generated and assembled. The present findings indicate that lungfish, not coelacanths, are the closest relatives to land-adapted vertebrates. Whereas protein-coding genes evolve at a very slow rate, possibly reflecting a "living fossil" status, transposable elements appear to be active and show high diversity, suggesting a role for them in the remarkable expansion of the lungfish genome. Analyses of single genes and gene families documented changes connected to the water to land transition and demonstrated the value of the lungfish reference transcriptome for comparative studies of vertebrate evolution.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BiscottiCarducciBaruccaetal.2020,
  author    = {Biscotti, Maria Assunta and Carducci, Federica and Barucca, Marco and Gerdol, Marco and Pallavicini, Alberto and Schartl, Manfred and Canapa, Adriana and Contar Adolfi, Mateus},
  title     = {The transcriptome of the newt Cynops orientalis provides new insights into evolution and function of sexual gene networks in sarcopterygians},
  series = {Scientific Reports},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Scientific Reports},
  doi       = {10.1038/s41598-020-62408-x},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227326},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Amphibians evolved in the Devonian period about 400 Mya and represent a transition step in tetrapod evolution. Among amphibians, high-throughput sequencing data are very limited for Caudata, due to their largest genome sizes among terrestrial vertebrates. In this paper we present the transcriptome from the fire bellied newt Cynops orientalis. Data here presented display a high level of completeness, comparable to the fully sequenced genomes available from other amphibians. Moreover, this work focused on genes involved in gametogenesis and sexual development. Surprisingly, the gsdf gene was identified for the first time in a tetrapod species, so far known only from bony fish and basal sarcopterygians. Our analysis failed to isolate fgf24 and foxl3, supporting the possible loss of both genes in the common ancestor of Rhipidistians. In Cynops, the expression analysis of genes described to be sex-related in vertebrates singled out an expected functional role for some genes, while others displayed an unforeseen behavior, confirming the high variability of the sex-related pathway in vertebrates.},
  language  = {en}
}