Threshold-dependent BMP-mediated repression: a model for a conserved mechanism that patterns the neuroectoderm.

ABSTRACT: Subdivision of the neuroectoderm into three rows of cells along the dorsal-ventral axis by neural identity genes is a highly conserved developmental process. While neural identity genes are expressed in remarkably similar patterns in vertebrates and invertebrates, previous work suggests that these patterns may be regulated by distinct upstream genetic pathways. Here we ask whether a potential conserved source of positional information provided by the BMP signaling contributes to patterning the neuroectoderm. We have addressed this question in two ways: First, we asked whether BMPs can act as bona fide morphogens to pattern the Drosophila neuroectoderm in a dose-dependent fashion, and second, we examined whether BMPs might act in a similar fashion in patterning the vertebrate neuroectoderm.

SUBMITTER: Mizutani CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1563485 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature