Wnt-regulated dynamics of positional information in zebrafish somitogenesis

Lola Bajard (1, 2) , Luis G. Morelli (1) , Saúl Ares (2) , Jacques Pécréaux (1) , Frank Jülicher (2) , Andrew C. Oates (1)

1 MPI-CBG - Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
2 MPI-P - Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut)

How signaling gradients supply positional information in a field of moving cells is an unsolved question in patterning and morphogenesis. Here, we ask how a Wnt signaling gradient regulates the dynamics of a wavefront of cellular change in a flow of cells during somitogenesis. Using time-controlled perturbations of Wnt signaling in the zebrafish embryo, we changed segment length without altering the rate of somite formation or embryonic elongation. This result implies specific Wnt regulation of the wavefront velocity. The observed Wnt signaling gradient dynamics and timing of downstream events support a model for wavefront regulation in which cell flow plays a dominant role in transporting positional information.

Mots clés: Animals; Genetically Modified; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Body Patterning; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Gene Expression Regulation; Developmental; Heat-Shock Response; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; T-Box Domain Proteins; Wnt Proteins; Wnt Signaling Pathway; Zebrafish; Zebrafish Proteins; Somites; Biological; Models

Domaines: Génétique

Lola Bajard, Luis G. Morelli, Saúl Ares, Jacques Pécréaux, Frank Jülicher, et al.. Wnt-regulated dynamics of positional information in zebrafish somitogenesis. Development (Cambridge, England), 2014, 141 (6), pp.1381--1391. ⟨10.1242/dev.093435⟩. ⟨hal-01064627⟩