ArticlePLoS biology2025
Synovial joints were present in the common ancestor of jawed fish but lacking in jawless fish.
Article in PLoS biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Beyond mammals: the evolution of chewing and other forms of oropharyngeal food processing in vertebrates.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Advancements in dual-targeting nanoparticle strategies for enhanced atherosclerosis therapy: Overcoming limitations of single-targeting approaches.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- Evolutionary pathway and genetic mechanisms of fin-to-limb transition in vertebrates.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Evolutionary origin of lubricated joints at the dawn of jawed vertebrates.PLoS biology · 2025Article
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Abstract
Synovial joints, characterized by reciprocally congruent and lubricated articular surfaces separated by a cavity, can simultaneously provide mobility and load bearing. Here, we study the early evolution of synovial joints by examining the morphological, genetic, and molecular features required for the development and function of the joints in elasmobranchs and cyclostomes. We show the presence of cavitated and articulated joints in the skeleton of elasmobranchs, such as the little skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). However, our results do not support the presence of articular cavities between cartilaginous elements in cyclostomes such as sea lampreys (Petromyozon marinus) and hagfish (Myxine glutinosa). Immunostaining reveals the expression of lubrication-related proteoglycans like aggrecan and glycoproteins such as hyaluronic acid receptor (CD44) at the articular surfaces in little skates. Analysis of joint development in little skate embryos shows the expression of growth differentiation factor-5 (Gdf5) and β-catenin at the joint interzones like tetrapods. Muscle paralysis in little skate embryos leads to joint fusion, suggesting that muscle activity is necessary for the formation of synovial cavity and development of normal articular surfaces, in a manner similar to zebrafish and tetrapods. Together, these data suggest that synovial joints originated in the common ancestor of extant gnathostomes. A review of fossils from the extinct clades along the gnathostome stem suggests that joints with reciprocally articulating surfaces arose in the dermal skeleton of the common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates. Synovial joints in cartilaginous tissue were a subsequent gnathostome innovation.
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