Evidence for involvement of Wnt signalling in body polarities, cell proliferation, and the neuro-sensory system in an adult ctenophore.

ABSTRACT: Signalling through the Wnt family of secreted proteins originated in a common metazoan ancestor and greatly influenced the evolution of animal body plans. In bilaterians, Wnt signalling plays multiple fundamental roles during embryonic development and in adult tissues, notably in axial patterning, neural development and stem cell regulation. Studies in various cnidarian species have particularly highlighted the evolutionarily conserved role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in specification and patterning of the primary embryonic axis. However in another key non-bilaterian phylum, Ctenophora, Wnts are not involved in early establishment of the body axis during embryogenesis. We analysed the expression in the adult of the ctenophore Pleurobrachia pileus of 11 orthologues of Wnt signalling genes

SUBMITTER: Jager M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3877318 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature