Notch and Nodal control forkhead factor expression in the specification of multipotent progenitors in sea urchin.

ABSTRACT: Indirect development, in which embryogenesis gives rise to a larval form, requires that some cells retain developmental potency until they contribute to the different tissues in the adult, including the germ line, in a later, post-embryonic phase. In sea urchins, the coelomic pouches are the major contributor to the adult, but how coelomic pouch cells (CPCs) are specified during embryogenesis is unknown. Here we identify the key signaling inputs into the CPC specification network and show that the forkhead factor foxY is the first transcription factor specifically expressed in CPC progenitors. Through dissection of its cis-regulatory apparatus we determine that the foxY expression pattern is the result of two signaling inputs: first, Delta/Notch signaling activates foxY in CPC progenitors;

SUBMITTER: Materna SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3621494 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature