Long-range formation of the Bicoid gradient requires multiple dynamic modes that spatially vary across the embryo.

ABSTRACT: Morphogen gradients provide essential positional information to gene networks through their spatially heterogeneous distribution, yet how they form is still hotly contested, with multiple models proposed for different systems. Here, we focus on the transcription factor Bicoid (Bcd), a morphogen that forms an exponential gradient across the anterior-posterior (AP) axis of the early Drosophila embryo. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy we find there are spatial differences in Bcd diffusivity along the AP axis, with Bcd diffusing more rapidly in the posterior. We establish that such spatially varying differences in Bcd dynamics are sufficient to explain how Bcd can have a steep exponential gradient in the anterior half of the embryo and yet still have an observable fraction of Bcd ne

SUBMITTER: Athilingam T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10911119 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature