The expression of Delta ligands in the sponge Amphimedon queenslandica suggests an ancient role for Notch signaling in metazoan development.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Intercellular signaling via the Notch pathway regulates cell fate, patterning, differentiation and proliferation, and is essential for the proper development of bilaterians and cnidarians. To investigate the origins of the Notch pathway, we are studying its deployment in a representative of an early branching lineage, the poriferan Amphimedon queenslandica. The A. queenslandica genome encodes a single Notch receptor and five membrane-bound Delta ligands, as well as orthologs of many genes that enact and regulate canonical Notch signaling events in other animals.

Methods

In the present report we analyze the structure of the five A. queenslandica Deltas using bioinformatic methods, and characterize their developmental expression via whole mount in situ hybridization

SUBMITTER: Richards GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3482393 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature