Journal article
Vertebrate Axial Patterning: From Egg to Asymmetry
Advances in experimental medicine and biology, Vol.953, pp.209-306
2017
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46095-6_6
PMCID: PMC6550305
PMID: 27975274
Abstract
The emergence of the bilateral embryonic body axis from a symmetrical egg has been a long-standing question in developmental biology. Historical and modern experiments point to an initial symmetry-breaking event leading to localized Wnt and Nodal growth factor signaling and subsequent induction and formation of a self-regulating dorsal "organizer." This organizer forms at the site of notochord cell internalization and expresses primarily Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) growth factor antagonists that establish a spatiotemporal gradient of BMP signaling across the embryo, directing initial cell differentiation and morphogenesis. Although the basics of this model have been known for some time, many of the molecular and cellular details have only recently been elucidated and the extent that these events remain conserved throughout vertebrate evolution remains unclear. This chapter summarizes historical perspectives as well as recent molecular and genetic advances regarding: (1) the mechanisms that regulate symmetry-breaking in the vertebrate egg and early embryo, (2) the pathways that are activated by these events, in particular the Wnt pathway, and the role of these pathways in the formation and function of the organizer, and (3) how these pathways also mediate anteroposterior patterning and axial morphogenesis. Emphasis is placed on comparative aspects of the egg-to-embryo transition across vertebrates and their evolution. The future prospects for work regarding self-organization and gene regulatory networks in the context of early axis formation are also discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Vertebrate Axial Patterning: From Egg to Asymmetry
- Creators
- Douglas W Houston - Department of Biology, The University of Iowa, 257 BB, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA. douglas-houston@uiowa.edu
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Advances in experimental medicine and biology, Vol.953, pp.209-306
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-319-46095-6_6
- PMID
- 27975274
- PMCID
- PMC6550305
- NLM abbreviation
- Adv Exp Med Biol
- eISBN
- 9783319460956; 3319460951
- ISSN
- 0065-2598
- eISSN
- 2214-8019
- Grant note
- R01 GM083999 / NIGMS NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2017
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Record Identifier
- 9984217412302771
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