Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 51 mins ago
Study finds octopus suckers form through a different genetic process than arms
A University of Tokyo team studied how cuttlefish and octopus arms develop by tracking gene activity in embryos.
Genes that help shape insect and mouse limbs were active in the arms, marking different regions from base to tip.
The same genes were active across the pond snail’s foot, without those distinct regions, supporting the idea that an arm developed from a molluscan foot.
But the limb-patterning genes were not active in sucker buds.
Instead, the researchers found a different gene active as suckers formed, one also involved in shaping the early embryo.
The findings suggest that arms and suckers develop through separate genetic processes, offering clues to how evolution can build new body parts.
Researchers found that octopus and cuttlefish arms and suckers develop through different genetic processes.
Genes associated with limb patterning were active in the arms but not in the developing sucker buds.
Instead, the researchers identified a gene involved in shaping the early embryo that was active in the suckers.
The University of Tokyo team compared developing cephalopod arms with the foot of a pond snail.
- Who
- A team led by Ryosuke Kimbara at the University of Tokyo.
- What
- The researchers found that suckers form through a different genetic process from arms.
- When
- The study was published on November 12, 2026.
- Where
- The research was conducted at the University of Tokyo’s Misaki Marine Biological Station in Japan.
- Why
- The team investigated which genes are active as cephalopod arms and suckers develop.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Golden cuttlefish adults were netted off Okusu fishing port each spring, and their fertilized eggs were raised in seawater tanks.
Earth.com published an account of the study’s findings.
- Research team
- University of Tokyo
- Study leader
- Ryosuke Kimbara
- Genes mapped
- Two dozen
- Cuttlefish collection period
- Each spring from 2020 to 2023
- Egg tank temperature
- 66°F to 70°F (19°C to 21°C)
What people are saying
At first, we hypothesized that appendage patterning genes would be involved both in arm and sucker patterning.
Therefore, we changed the method into a more comprehensive one and continued screening until we found a gene with a distinctive expression pattern in developing suckers, and it wasn’t where we expected to find it.