Initial characterization of Wnt-Tcf functions during Ciona heart development.

ABSTRACT: In vertebrate embryos, the cardiopharyngeal mesoderm gives rise to both cardiac and branchiomeric head muscles. The canonical Wnt signaling pathway regulates many aspects of cardiomyocyte specification, and modulates a balance between skeletal and cardiac myogenesis during vertebrate head muscle development. However, the role of Wnt signaling during ascidian cardiopharyngeal development remains elusive. Here, we documented the expression of Wnt pathway components during cardiopharyngeal development in Ciona, and generated tools to investigate potential roles for Wnt signaling, and its transcriptional effector Tcf, on heart vs. pharyngeal muscle fate specification. Neither focused functional analyses nor lineage-specific transcriptome profiling uncovered a significant role for Tcf during ea

SUBMITTER: Kaplan NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6487219 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature