TY - JOUR AB - Embryogenesis results from the coordinated activities of different signaling pathways controlling cell fate specification and morphogenesis. In vertebrate gastrulation, both Nodal and BMP signaling play key roles in germ layer specification and morphogenesis, yet their interplay to coordinate embryo patterning with morphogenesis is still insufficiently understood. Here, we took a reductionist approach using zebrafish embryonic explants to study the coordination of Nodal and BMP signaling for embryo patterning and morphogenesis. We show that Nodal signaling triggers explant elongation by inducing mesendodermal progenitors but also suppressing BMP signaling activity at the site of mesendoderm induction. Consistent with this, ectopic BMP signaling in the mesendoderm blocks cell alignment and oriented mesendoderm intercalations, key processes during explant elongation. Translating these ex vivo observations to the intact embryo showed that, similar to explants, Nodal signaling suppresses the effect of BMP signaling on cell intercalations in the dorsal domain, thus allowing robust embryonic axis elongation. These findings suggest a dual function of Nodal signaling in embryonic axis elongation by both inducing mesendoderm and suppressing BMP effects in the dorsal portion of the mesendoderm. AU - Schauer, Alexandra AU - Pranjic-Ferscha, Kornelija AU - Hauschild, Robert AU - Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J ID - 15048 IS - 4 JF - Development SN - 0950-1991 TI - Robust axis elongation by Nodal-dependent restriction of BMP signaling VL - 151 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Morphogen gradients impart positional information to cells in a homogenous tissue field. Fgf8a, a highly conserved growth factor, has been proposed to act as a morphogen during zebrafish gastrulation. However, technical limitations have so far prevented direct visualization of the endogenous Fgf8a gradient and confirmation of its morphogenic activity. Here, we monitor Fgf8a propagation in the developing neural plate using a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated EGFP knock-in at the endogenous fgf8a locus. By combining sensitive imaging with single-molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, we demonstrate that Fgf8a, which is produced at the embryonic margin, propagates by diffusion through the extracellular space and forms a graded distribution towards the animal pole. Overlaying the Fgf8a gradient curve with expression profiles of its downstream targets determines the precise input-output relationship of Fgf8a-mediated patterning. Manipulation of the extracellular Fgf8a levels alters the signaling outcome, thus establishing Fgf8a as a bona fide morphogen during zebrafish gastrulation. Furthermore, by hindering Fgf8a diffusion, we demonstrate that extracellular diffusion of the protein from the source is crucial for it to achieve its morphogenic potential. AU - Harish, Rohit K AU - Gupta, Mansi AU - Zöller, Daniela AU - Hartmann, Hella AU - Gheisari, Ali AU - Machate, Anja AU - Hans, Stefan AU - Brand, Michael ID - 14774 IS - 19 JF - Development KW - Developmental Biology KW - Molecular Biology SN - 0950-1991 TI - Real-time monitoring of an endogenous Fgf8a gradient attests to its role as a morphogen during zebrafish gastrulation VL - 150 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Ventral tail bending, which is transient but pronounced, is found in many chordate embryos and constitutes an interesting model of how tissue interactions control embryo shape. Here, we identify one key upstream regulator of ventral tail bending in embryos of the ascidian Ciona. We show that during the early tailbud stages, ventral epidermal cells exhibit a boat-shaped morphology (boat cell) with a narrow apical surface where phosphorylated myosin light chain (pMLC) accumulates. We further show that interfering with the function of the BMP ligand Admp led to pMLC localizing to the basal instead of the apical side of ventral epidermal cells and a reduced number of boat cells. Finally, we show that cutting ventral epidermal midline cells at their apex using an ultraviolet laser relaxed ventral tail bending. Based on these results, we propose a previously unreported function for Admp in localizing pMLC to the apical side of ventral epidermal cells, which causes the tail to bend ventrally by resisting antero-posterior notochord extension at the ventral side of the tail. AU - Kogure, Yuki S. AU - Muraoka, Hiromochi AU - Koizumi, Wataru C. AU - Gelin-alessi, Raphaël AU - Godard, Benoit G AU - Oka, Kotaro AU - Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J AU - Hotta, Kohji ID - 12231 IS - 21 JF - Development KW - Developmental Biology KW - Molecular Biology SN - 0950-1991 TI - Admp regulates tail bending by controlling ventral epidermal cell polarity via phosphorylated myosin localization in Ciona VL - 149 ER - TY - JOUR AB - MicroRNAs (miRs) have an important role in tuning dynamic gene expression. However, the mechanism by which they are quantitatively controlled is unknown. We show that the amount of mature miR-9, a key regulator of neuronal development, increases during zebrafish neurogenesis in a sharp stepwise manner. We characterize the spatiotemporal profile of seven distinct microRNA primary transcripts (pri-mir)-9s that produce the same mature miR-9 and show that they are sequentially expressed during hindbrain neurogenesis. Expression of late-onset pri-mir-9-1 is added on to, rather than replacing, the expression of early onset pri-mir-9-4 and -9-5 in single cells. CRISPR/Cas9 mutation of the late-onset pri-mir-9-1 prevents the developmental increase of mature miR-9, reduces late neuronal differentiation and fails to downregulate Her6 at late stages. Mathematical modelling shows that an adaptive network containing Her6 is insensitive to linear increases in miR-9 but responds to stepwise increases of miR-9. We suggest that a sharp stepwise increase of mature miR-9 is created by sequential and additive temporal activation of distinct loci. This may be a strategy to overcome adaptation and facilitate a transition of Her6 to a new dynamic regime or steady state. AU - Soto, Ximena AU - Burton, Joshua AU - Manning, Cerys S. AU - Minchington, Thomas AU - Lea, Robert AU - Lee, Jessica AU - Kursawe, Jochen AU - Rattray, Magnus AU - Papalopulu, Nancy ID - 12245 IS - 19 JF - Development KW - Developmental Biology KW - Molecular Biology SN - 0950-1991 TI - Sequential and additive expression of miR-9 precursors control timing of neurogenesis VL - 149 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Half a century after Lewis Wolpert's seminal conceptual advance on how cellular fates distribute in space, we provide a brief historical perspective on how the concept of positional information emerged and influenced the field of developmental biology and beyond. We focus on a modern interpretation of this concept in terms of information theory, largely centered on its application to cell specification in the early Drosophila embryo. We argue that a true physical variable (position) is encoded in local concentrations of patterning molecules, that this mapping is stochastic, and that the processes by which positions and corresponding cell fates are determined based on these concentrations need to take such stochasticity into account. With this approach, we shift the focus from biological mechanisms, molecules, genes and pathways to quantitative systems-level questions: where does positional information reside, how it is transformed and accessed during development, and what fundamental limits it is subject to? AU - Tkačik, Gašper AU - Gregor, Thomas ID - 9226 IS - 2 JF - Development TI - The many bits of positional information VL - 148 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cell division, movement and differentiation contribute to pattern formation in developing tissues. This is the case in the vertebrate neural tube, in which neurons differentiate in a characteristic pattern from a highly dynamic proliferating pseudostratified epithelium. To investigate how progenitor proliferation and differentiation affect cell arrangement and growth of the neural tube, we used experimental measurements to develop a mechanical model of the apical surface of the neuroepithelium that incorporates the effect of interkinetic nuclear movement and spatially varying rates of neuronal differentiation. Simulations predict that tissue growth and the shape of lineage-related clones of cells differ with the rate of differentiation. Growth is isotropic in regions of high differentiation, but dorsoventrally biased in regions of low differentiation. This is consistent with experimental observations. The absence of directional signalling in the simulations indicates that global mechanical constraints are sufficient to explain the observed differences in anisotropy. This provides insight into how the tissue growth rate affects cell dynamics and growth anisotropy and opens up possibilities to study the coupling between mechanics, pattern formation and growth in the neural tube. AU - Guerrero, Pilar AU - Perez-Carrasco, Ruben AU - Zagórski, Marcin P AU - Page, David AU - Kicheva, Anna AU - Briscoe, James AU - Page, Karen M. ID - 7165 IS - 23 JF - Development SN - 0950-1991 TI - Neuronal differentiation influences progenitor arrangement in the vertebrate neuroepithelium VL - 146 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The formation of neuronal dendrite branches is fundamental for the wiring and function of the nervous system. Indeed, dendrite branching enhances the coverage of the neuron's receptive field and modulates the initial processing of incoming stimuli. Complex dendrite patterns are achieved in vivo through a dynamic process of de novo branch formation, branch extension and retraction. The first step towards branch formation is the generation of a dynamic filopodium-like branchlet. The mechanisms underlying the initiation of dendrite branchlets are therefore crucial to the shaping of dendrites. Through in vivo time-lapse imaging of the subcellular localization of actin during the process of branching of Drosophila larva sensory neurons, combined with genetic analysis and electron tomography, we have identified the Actin-related protein (Arp) 2/3 complex as the major actin nucleator involved in the initiation of dendrite branchlet formation, under the control of the activator WAVE and of the small GTPase Rac1. Transient recruitment of an Arp2/3 component marks the site of branchlet initiation in vivo. These data position the activation of Arp2/3 as an early hub for the initiation of branchlet formation. AU - Stürner, Tomke AU - Tatarnikova, Anastasia AU - Müller, Jan AU - Schaffran, Barbara AU - Cuntz, Hermann AU - Zhang, Yun AU - Nemethova, Maria AU - Bogdan, Sven AU - Small, Vic AU - Tavosanis, Gaia ID - 7404 IS - 7 JF - Development SN - 0950-1991 TI - Transient localization of the Arp2/3 complex initiates neuronal dendrite branching in vivo VL - 146 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cytosine methylation is the most common covalent modification of DNA in eukaryotes. DNA methylation has an important role in many aspects of biology, including development and disease. Methylation can be detected using bisulfite conversion, methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes, methyl-binding proteins and anti-methylcytosine antibodies. Combining these techniques with DNA microarrays and high-throughput sequencing has made the mapping of DNA methylation feasible on a genome-wide scale. Here we discuss recent developments and future directions for identifying and mapping methylation, in an effort to help colleagues to identify the approaches that best serve their research interests. AU - Zilberman, Daniel AU - Henikoff, Steven ID - 9524 IS - 22 JF - Development SN - 0950-1991 TI - Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns VL - 134 ER -