Veiled mirrors - fish fins giving insight into size regulation

Harris MP, Daane JM, Lanni J. 2020. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology 10(4):e381

Abstract

Faithful establishment and maintenance of proportion is seen across biological systems and provides a glimpse at fundamental rules of scaling that underlie development and evolution. Dysregulation of proportion is observed in a range of human diseases and growth disorders, indicating that proper scaling is an essential component of normal anatomy and physiology. However, when viewed through an evolutionary lens, shifts in the regulation of relative proportion are one of the most striking sources of morphological diversity among organisms. To date, the mechanisms via which relative proportion is specified and maintained remain unclear. Through the application of powerful experimental, genetic and molecular approaches, the teleost fin has provided an effective model to investigate the regulation of scaling, size, and relative growth in vertebrate organisms.