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First published online September 5, 2008
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.018697

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Regulative feedback in pattern formation: towards a general relativistic theory of positional information

Johannes Jaeger^1,*,, David Irons^2,* and Nick Monk^3,*

¹ Laboratory for Development and Evolution, University Museum of Zoology, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
² School of Medicine, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK.
³ School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.

Author for correspondence (e-mail: jj231{at}cam.ac.uk)

SUMMARY

Positional specification by morphogen gradients is traditionally viewed as a two-step process. A gradient is formed and then interpreted, providing a spatial metric independent of the target tissue, similar to the concept of space in classical mechanics. However, the formation and interpretation of gradients are coupled, dynamic processes. We introduce a conceptual framework for positional specification in which cellular activity feeds back on positional information encoded by gradients, analogous to the feedback between mass-energy distribution and the geometry of space-time in Einstein's general theory of relativity. We discuss how such general relativistic positional information (GRPI) can guide systems-level approaches to pattern formation.