Activin/Nodal signaling mediates dorsal-ventral axis formation before third quartet formation in embryos of the annelid Chaetopterus pergamentaceus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The clade of protostome animals known as the Spiralia (e.g., mollusks, annelids, nemerteans and polyclad flatworms) shares a highly conserved program of early development. This includes shared arrangement of cells in the early-stage embryo and fates of descendant cells into embryonic quadrants. In spiralian embryos, a single cell in the D quadrant functions as an embryonic organizer to pattern the body axes. The precise timing of the organizing signal and its cellular identity varies among spiralians. Previous experiments in the annelid Chaetopterus pergamentaceus Cuvier, 1830 demonstrated that the D quadrant possesses an organizing role in body axes formation; however, the molecular signal and exact cellular identity of the organizer were unknown.

Results

SUBMITTER: Lanza AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7418201 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature