Summary
Patterning along the anteroposterior (A-P) axis involves the interplay of secreted and transcription factors that specify cell fates in the mesoderm and neuroectoderm. While FGF and homeodomain proteins have been shown to play different roles in posterior specification, the network coordinating their effects remains elusive. Here we have analyzed the function of Gli zinc-finger proteins in mesodermal A-P patterning. We find that Gli2 is sufficient to induce ventroposterior development, functioning in the FGF-brachyury regulatory loop. Gli2 directly induces brachyury, a gene required and sufficient for mesodermal development, and Gli2 is in turn induced by FGF signaling. Moreover, the homeobox gene Xhox3, a critical determinant of posterior development, is also directly regulated by Gli2. Gli3, but not Gli1, has an activity similar to that of Gli2 and is expressed in ventroposterior mesoderm after Gli2. These findings uncover a novel function of Gli proteins, previously only known to mediate hedgehog signals, in the maintenance and patterning of the embryonic mesoderm. More generally, our results suggest a molecular basis for an integration of FGF and hedgehog inputs in Gli-expressing cells that respond to these signals.
Article navigation
Related articles
Cited by...
More in this TOC section
Similar articles
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Spotlight: an interview with Eric Wieschaus
Eric Wieschaus is a HHMI Investigator, and the Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. In 1995, he was awarded the Nobel Prize jointly with Edward Lewis and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard for discoveries about the genetic control of Drosophila embryogenesis. Read the interview with Eric as he discusses his career, his thoughts on the field and the impact the Nobel award had on his life.
Featured article: The developmental biology of genetic Notch disorders
Because Notch signaling regulates a vast array of crucial developmental processes, mutations in genes encoding Notch receptors or ligands lead to a variety of congenital disorders in humans. In a Review article, Jan Mašek and Emma R. Andersson from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, discuss the developmental processes underlying Notch-related congenital disorders in humans, drawing on data from model organisms and genome-sequencing projects.
Development in the news: an interview with Ottoline Leyser
This week, BBC Radio 4 featured an interview with Development Editor Ottoline Leyser in their 'The Life Scientific' feature. Listen to Ottoline explain how plants are intelligent creatures that possess a unique ability to adapt in ways we animals can only dream of, able to alter their entire body plan of roots and shoots, when required, in response to their surroundings.
Transfer to Biology Open
If your submission to Development is unsuccessful, did you know you can transfer your paper and any reviews directly to our sister journal, Biology Open? The majority of papers transferred with reviews are accepted for publication. Find out how here.