Dias, AS;
de Almeida, I;
Belmonte, JM;
Glazier, JA;
Stern, CD;
(2014)
Somites without a clock.
Science
, 343
(6172)
pp. 791-795.
10.1126/science.1247575.
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Abstract
The formation of body segments (somites) in vertebrate embryos is accompanied by molecular oscillations ("segmentation clock"). Interaction of this with a wave travelling along the body axis (the "clock-and-wavefront model") is generally believed to control somite number, size and axial identity. Here, we show that a clock-and-wavefront is unnecessary for somite formation. Non-somite mesoderm treated with Noggin generates many somites that form simultaneously, without cyclic expression of Notch-pathway genes, yet have normal size, shape and fate. These somites have axial identity: the Hox-code is fixed independently of somite fate. However they are not subdivided into rostral and caudal halves, necessary for neural segmentation. We propose that somites are self-organizing structures whose size and shape is controlled by local cell-cell interactions.
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