First published online January 27, 2005
Development 132, 403e (2005)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
A conserved approach to setting boundaries
A crucial process in embryonic development is the formation of localised
signalling centres at boundaries between different tissue compartments. In
vertebrates, this process can be studied in the hindbrain, which is segmented
into compartments called rhombomeres. In their study of hindbrain boundaries
in zebrafish (see p.
775), Amoyel and
colleagues have now discovered that Wnt1 signalling maintains a sharp boundary
between rhombomeres through the process of lateral inhibition. Unexpectedly,
Wnt1 also promotes neurogenesis in rhombomeres, contrasting with previous
findings in mice showing Wnt1 to be an inhibitor of neuronal differentiation
in this region. Importantly, the molecular networks reported here –
which were investigated by morpholino knockdowns of Wnt pathway components,
and which involve both Notch and Wnt signalling – are very similar to
those acting at the dorsal-ventral boundary of the fly wing, highlighting this
as a fundamental process in boundary specification.
Related articles in Development:
- Wnt1 regulates neurogenesis and mediates lateral inhibition of boundary cell specification in the zebrafish hindbrain
- Marc Amoyel, Yi-Chuan Cheng, Yun-Jin Jiang, and David G. Wilkinson
Development 2005 132: 775-785.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
