Shaping organs by a wingless-int/Notch/nonmuscle myosin module which orients feather bud elongation.

ABSTRACT: How organs are shaped to specific forms is a fundamental issue in developmental biology. To address this question, we used the repetitive, periodic pattern of feather morphogenesis on chicken skin as a model. Avian feathers within a single tract extend from dome-shaped primordia to thin conical structures with a common axis of orientation. From a systems biology perspective, the process is precise and robust. Using tissue transplantation assays, we demonstrate that a "zone of polarizing activity," localized in the posterior feather bud, is necessary and sufficient to mediate the directional elongation. This region contains a spatially well-defined nuclear β-catenin zone, which is induced by wingless-int (Wnt)7a protein diffusing in from posterior bud epithelium. Misexpressing nuclear β-cat

SUBMITTER: Li A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3631647 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature