Abstract
Recent studies suggest that specification of the dorsal-ventral and left-right axes of the sea urchin embryo relies on Nodal-expressing signalling centres located in the ventral ectoderm and in the archenteron that share striking similarities with vertebrate organising centres. Nodal and its downstream target BMP2/4 pattern all three germ layers along the dorsal-ventral axis, repress neural fates and control morphogenesis of the larva. Moreover, Nodal establishes left-right asymmetry by repressing formation of the adult rudiment and inhibiting germline cells differentiation on the right side, while BMP2/4 promotes expression of mesodermal genes on the left side. These findings provide a framework for future studies and raise new questions regarding the events upstream and downstream of Nodal and BMP signalling during axis formation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 445-453 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Current Opinion in Genetics and Development |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Oral-aboral axis
- Left-right asymmetry
- Strongylocentrotus-purpuratus
- Regulatory control
- Gene-expression
- Animal-vegetal
- Right side
- Specification
- Fate
- Pathway