{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T07:33:41Z","timestamp":1771572821893,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,2]],"date-time":"2021-12-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638403200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The specification of the endostyle in non-vertebrate chordates and of the thyroid gland in vertebrates are fundamental steps in the evolution of the thyroid hormone (TH) signaling to coordinate development and body physiology in response to a range of environmental signals. The physiology and biology of TH signaling in vertebrates have been studied in the past, but a complete understanding of such a complex system is still lacking. Non-model species from non-vertebrate chordates may greatly improve our understanding of the evolution of this complex endocrine pathway. Adaptation of already existing proteins in order to perform new roles is a common feature observed during the course of evolution. Through sequence similarity approaches, we investigated the presence of bona fide thyroid peroxidase (TPO), iodothyronine deiodinase (DIO), and thyroid hormone receptors (THRs) in non-vertebrate and vertebrate chordates. Additionally, we determined both the conservation and divergence degrees of functional domains at the protein level. This study supports the hypothesis that non-vertebrate chordates have a functional thyroid hormone signaling system and provides additional information about its possible evolutionary adaptation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells10123391","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,2]],"date-time":"2021-12-02T02:40:02Z","timestamp":1638412802000},"page":"3391","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Evolutionary Adaptation of the Thyroid Hormone Signaling Toolkit in Chordates"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0726-5290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alfonso","family":"Esposito","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Computational Biology Unit, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, 34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1756-9538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Ambrosino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research Infrastructure for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7156-5434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvano","family":"Piazza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computational Biology Unit, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, ICGEB, 34149 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7294-1465","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salvatore","family":"D\u2019Aniello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6296-7132","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Luisa","family":"Chiusano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research Infrastructure for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Agriculture, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6956-2157","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annamaria","family":"Locascio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"557","DOI":"10.1016\/S0300-9084(99)80110-2","article-title":"Molecular evolution of thyroid peroxidase","volume":"81","author":"Taurog","year":"1999","journal-title":"Biochimie"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1002\/dvg.20443","article-title":"The history of a developmental stage: Metamorphosis in chordates","volume":"46","author":"Paris","year":"2008","journal-title":"Genesis"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-385979-2.00014-9","article-title":"Thyroid Hormones and Postembryonic Development in Amniotes","volume":"Volume 103","author":"Holzer","year":"2013","journal-title":"Current Topics in Developmental Biology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mce.2017.03.021","article-title":"Evolution of ligands, receptors and metabolizing enzymes of thyroid signaling","volume":"459","author":"Holzer","year":"2017","journal-title":"Mol. 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