Dear Editor, The origin of vertebrate-specific characters and functional systems is one of the most important questions in the evo- lutionary biology （Holland and Chen, 2001）. Amphioxus, the most basal chordate, is ...Dear Editor, The origin of vertebrate-specific characters and functional systems is one of the most important questions in the evo- lutionary biology （Holland and Chen, 2001）. Amphioxus, the most basal chordate, is considered as the sister of verte- brates based on the recent molecular phylogenetic evi- dences, and it is used as an ideal model organism to study the origin and evolution of vertebrate organ systems including immune system （Yu and Holland, 2009）. Three digestive organs, gill slits, hepatic caecum and intestine in amphioxus were also considered as primitive immune organs of amphioxus （Schmitz et al., 2000）. In addition to the respiratory and digestive function,展开更多
文摘Dear Editor, The origin of vertebrate-specific characters and functional systems is one of the most important questions in the evo- lutionary biology （Holland and Chen, 2001）. Amphioxus, the most basal chordate, is considered as the sister of verte- brates based on the recent molecular phylogenetic evi- dences, and it is used as an ideal model organism to study the origin and evolution of vertebrate organ systems including immune system （Yu and Holland, 2009）. Three digestive organs, gill slits, hepatic caecum and intestine in amphioxus were also considered as primitive immune organs of amphioxus （Schmitz et al., 2000）. In addition to the respiratory and digestive function,
