Patterning of the dorsal-ventral axis in echinoderms: insights into the evolution of the BMP-chordin signaling network.

ABSTRACT: Formation of the dorsal-ventral axis of the sea urchin embryo relies on cell interactions initiated by the TGFbeta Nodal. Intriguingly, although nodal expression is restricted to the ventral side of the embryo, Nodal function is required for specification of both the ventral and the dorsal territories and is able to restore both ventral and dorsal regions in nodal morpholino injected embryos. The molecular basis for the long-range organizing activity of Nodal is not understood. In this paper, we provide evidence that the long-range organizing activity of Nodal is assured by a relay molecule synthesized in the ventral ectoderm, then translocated to the opposite side of the embryo. We identified this relay molecule as BMP2/4 based on the following arguments. First, blocking BMP2/4 function e

SUBMITTER: Lapraz F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2772021 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature