Zebrafish organizer development and germ-layer formation require nodal-related signals

The vertebrate body plan is established during gastrulation, when cells move inwards to form the mesodermal and endodermal germ layers. Signals from a region of dorsal mesoderm, which is termed the organizer, pattern the body axis by specifying the fates of neighbouring cells,. The organizer is itse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1998-09, Vol.395 (6698), p.181-185
Main Authors: Talbot, William S, Feldman, Benjamin, Gates, Michael A, Egan, Elizabeth S, Dougan, Scott T, Rennebeck, Gabriela, Sirotkin, Howard I, Schier, Alexander F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Blastocyst - physiology
Body Patterning - genetics
Cellular biology
Chromosome Mapping
Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids
Danio rerio
Early stages. Segmentation. Gastrulation. Neurulation
Embryology: invertebrates and vertebrates. Teratology
Embryonic Induction - genetics
Fish
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastrula - physiology
Genes
Genetics
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Germ Layers - physiology
Goosecoid Protein
Homeodomain Proteins - biosynthesis
Homeodomain Proteins - genetics
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Molecular Sequence Data
Mutation
Nodal Signaling Ligands
Ovum - metabolism
Repressor Proteins
Signal Transduction
Transcription Factors
Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics
Transforming Growth Factor beta - physiology
Vertebrata
Zebrafish
Zebrafish Proteins
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Summary:The vertebrate body plan is established during gastrulation, when cells move inwards to form the mesodermal and endodermal germ layers. Signals from a region of dorsal mesoderm, which is termed the organizer, pattern the body axis by specifying the fates of neighbouring cells,. The organizer is itself induced by earlier signals. Although members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and Wnt families have been implicated in the formation of the organizer, no endogenous signalling molecule is known to be required for this process. Here we report that the zebrafish squint (sqt) and cyclops (cyc) genes have essential, although partly redundant, functions in organizer development and also in the formation of mesoderm and endoderm. We show that the sqt gene encodes a member of the TGF-β superfamily that is related to mouse nodal. cyc encodes another nodal-related protein,, which is consistent with our genetic evidence that sqt and cyc have overlapping functions. The sqt gene is expressed in a dorsal region of the blastula that includes the extraembryonic yolk syncytial layer (YSL). The YSL has been implicated as a source of signals that induce organizer development and mesendoderm formation,. Misexpression of sqt RNA within the embryo or specifically in the YSL induces expanded or ectopic dorsal mesoderm. These results establish an essential role for nodal-related signals in organizer development and mesendoderm formation.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/26013