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First published online June 1, 2005

Development 132, 1205e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
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In this issue

An ancient organizer of axis formation

Many of the molecular mechanisms that underlie axis formation and axial patterning are conserved among bilaterians, but how early in metazoan evolution did these mechanisms appear? On p. 2907, Broun and colleagues report that canonical Wnt pathway involvement in the initiation of axis formation goes back to hydra, which arose very early in metazoan evolution. ß-Catenin stabilization through glycogen synthase-3ß (GSK-3ß) inhibition, a crucial step in canonical Wnt signalling, is involved in organizer formation in bilaterians. In hydra, the head organizer is continuously active throughout life, and the researchers show that treatment with alsterpaullone, a specific GSK-3ß inhibitor, causes the hydra's body column to acquire all the characteristics of the head organizer, including the ability to form ectopic axial structures. This response mirrors the effects on patterning of disrupting Wnt signalling in bilaterians and identifies the canonical Wnt pathway as an evolutionary ancient component of axis formation.



Related articles in Development:

Formation of the head organizer in hydra involves the canonical Wnt pathway
Mariya Broun, Lydia Gee, Beate Reinhardt, and Hans R. Bode
Development 2005 132: 2907-2916. [Abstract] [Full Text]  




This Article
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