XB-FEAT-482447

tdgf1.3

This is the community wiki page for the gene tdgf1.3 please feel free to add any information that is relevant to this gene that is not already captured elsewhere in Xenbase.

nomenclature changes

19 JUNE 2023

Human symbol has changed for genepage ID: 482447 From TDGF1 to CRIPTO

Human symbol has changed for Entrez Gene: 6997. From TDGF1 to CRIPTO

Human name has changed for Entrez Gene: 6997. From teratocarcinoma-derived growth factor 1 to cripto, EGF-CFC family member

Xenopus symbol has changed for genepage ID: 482447 from tdgf1.3 to cripto.3

28JULY2023 Xenopus symbol has changed for genepage ID: 482447 corrected from cripto1.3 to cripto.3

25JUNE2025

Based on published analysis in "Genomic evolution of EGF-CFC genes in deuterostomes" by Natalia A. Shylo, Paul A. Trainor (2025) [1], we are re-naming these genes tdgf1.3/.L/.S.

Supporting information & introductory text from the paper:

Background

EGF-CFC proteins are a bilaterian innovation, but they are best known for their roles in Nodal signaling during gastrulation and left–right patterning in vertebrates. Species with multiple family members show evidence of functional specialization. For example, in mouse, Cripto is required for gastrulation, whereas CFC1 is involved in left–right patterning. However, members of the EGF-CFC family across model organisms exhibit limited sequence conservation beyond the EGF-CFC domain, posing challenges for determining their evolutionary history and functional conservation.

Results

In this study, we describe the evolutionary history of the EGF-CFC family of proteins across several branches of deuterostomes, with a particular focus on vertebrates. We trace the EGF-CFC gene family from a single gene in the deuterostome ancestor through its expansion and functional specialization in tetrapods, and subsequent gene loss and translocation in eutherian mammals. Mouse Cripto and CFC1, zebrafish Tdgf1, and each Xenopus EGF-CFC gene (Tdgf1, Tdgf1.2 and Cripto.3) are all descendants of the ancestral deuterostome Tdgf1 gene.

Conclusions

We propose that subsequent to EGF-CFC family expansion in tetrapods, Tdgf1B (Xenopus Tdgf1.2) acquired specialization in the left–right patterning cascade, and then after its translocation in eutherians to a different chromosomal location, CFC1 has maintained that specialization.