A pair-rule-like transcription network coordinates neural tube closure in a proto-vertebrate.

ABSTRACT: Neural tube closure (NTC) is a conserved morphogenetic process in chordates, during which the neural plate folds and fuses to form a closed neural tube. While the mechanical forces and signaling pathways governing NTC have been characterized in vertebrates, the transcriptional programs coordinating cell behaviors during closure remain less understood. Here, we identify a transcriptional circuit involving Lmx1, Cdkn1b, and Msx that regulates dorsal midline dynamics during NTC in the tunicate Ciona. High-resolution HCR in situ hybridization reveals that Lmx1 is dynamically enriched at the zippering point and advances in a posterior-to-anterior transcription wave, while Msx is downregulated in the same region, marking a transition from early ne

SUBMITTER: Ostlund-Sholars G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262576 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature