Snakes have lost their limbs over the course of evolution. Recent data show a reduction in...

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Biology

Snakes have lost their limbs over the course ofevolution. Recent data show a reduction in Shhexpressionin their limb fields due to loss of a portion of the limb enhancer,noting that other enhancers remain intact.
First, indicate whether this is an example of heterotopy,heterochrony, heterometry, or heterotypy, defining your chosenterm. Second, describe how you might use the mouse embryo as amodel system to test the hypothesis that this reduction inShh expression in the limb field is responsible for theloss of limbs in snakes. Be sure to provide a brief description ofthe relevant technique(s), and to include at least one control

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The information described above talks about the snakes losing their limbs over the course of evolution This is because of the effect of the absence of the enhancer element that governs the expression of the Shh or the Sonic HedgeHog gene responsible for limb development Understand it in this way the enhancers are a stretch of DNA that could interact with the proteins called activators or transcription factors and this whole setup then further activate a specific gene by activation I mean they induce its transcription and thus its expression in our case the gene is Shh In the evolutionary process if there is a loss of a particular enhancer in the particular group of cells present at a specific site in the developing embryo that ultimately leads to the decrease in the activation of a genesay Shh which is important for limb development See Answer

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