UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Correct anteroposterior patterning of the zebrafish neurectoderm in the absence of the early dorsal organizer

Varga, M; Maegawa, S; Weinberg, E; (2011) Correct anteroposterior patterning of the zebrafish neurectoderm in the absence of the early dorsal organizer. BMC Developmental Biology , 11 , Article 26. 10.1186/1471-213X-11-26. Green open access

[thumbnail of 1471-213X-11-26.pdf]
Preview
PDF
1471-213X-11-26.pdf

Download (9MB)

Abstract

Background The embryonic organizer (i.e., Spemann organizer) has a pivotal role in the establishment of the dorsoventral (DV) axis through the coordination of BMP signaling. However, as impaired organizer function also results in anterior and posterior truncations, it is of interest to determine if proper anteroposterior (AP) pattern can be obtained even in the absence of early organizer signaling. Results Using the ventralized, maternal effect ichabod (ich) mutant, and by inhibiting BMP signaling in ich embryos, we provide conclusive evidence that AP patterning is independent of the organizer in zebrafish, and is governed by TGFβ, FGF, and Wnt signals emanating from the germ-ring. The expression patterns of neurectodermal markers in embryos with impaired BMP signaling show that the directionality of such signals is oriented along the animal-vegetal axis, which is essentially concordant with the AP axis. In addition, we find that in embryos inhibited in both Wnt and BMP signaling, the AP pattern of such markers is unchanged from that of the normal untreated embryo. These embryos develop radially organized trunk and head tissues, with an outer neurectodermal layer containing diffusely positioned neuronal precursors. Such organization is reflective of the presumed eumetazoan ancestor and might provide clues for the evolution of centralization in the nervous system. Conclusions Using a zebrafish mutant deficient in the induction of the embryonic organizer, we demonstrate that the AP patterning of the neuroectoderm during gastrulation is independent of DV patterning. Our results provide further support for Nieuwkoop's "two step model" of embryonic induction. We also show that the zebrafish embryo can form a radial diffuse neural sheath in the absence of both BMP signaling and the early organizer.

Type: Article
Title: Correct anteroposterior patterning of the zebrafish neurectoderm in the absence of the early dorsal organizer
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1186/1471-213X-11-26
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-213X-11-26
Language: English
Additional information: © 2011 Varga et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1327951
Downloads since deposit
105Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item