Abstract
The presence of well-conserved N-terminal Hh domains in several bacterial strains indicates that the metazoan Hedgehog (Hh) gene was acquired via horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. The bilaterian and cnidarian Hh proteins are rooted within the bacterial clade, while the cnidarian hedgling protein forms the outgroup. This relationship indicates that the N-terminal signaling part of the Hh proteins was acquired from a bacterium, and not from the hedgling protein.
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