Segment Polarity of the Body Genes

Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Akam

The metameric organization of the Drosophila embryo is generated in the first 5 h after fertilization. An initially rather simple pattern provides the foundation for subsequent development and diversification of the segmented part of the body. Many of the genes that control the formation of this pattern have been identified and at least twenty have been cloned. By combining the techniques of genetics, molecular biology and experimental embryology, it is becoming possible to unravel the role played by each of these genes. The repeating segment pattern is defined by the persistent expression of engrailed and of other genes of the ‘segment polarity’ class. The establishment of this pattern is directed by a transient molecular prepattern that is generated in the blastoderm by the activity of the ‘pair-rule’ genes. Maternal determinants at the poles of the egg coordinate this prepattern and define the anteroposterior sequence of pattern elements. The primary effect of these determinants is not known, but genes required for their production have been identified and the product of one of these, bicoid is known to be localized at the anterior of the egg. One early consequence of their activity is to define domains along the A-P axis within which a series of ‘cardinal’ genes are transcribed. The activity of the cardinal genes is required both to coordinate the process of segmentation and to define the early domains of homeotic gene expression. Further interactions between the homeotic genes and other classes of segmentation genes refine the initial establishment of segment identities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 3994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee-Jin Kwak ◽  
Jeong-Su Park ◽  
Brenda Irene Medina Jiménez ◽  
Soon Cheol Park ◽  
Sung-Jin Cho

Antistasin, which was originally discovered in the salivary glands of the Mexican leech Haementeria officinalis, was newly isolated from Helobdella austinensis. To confirm the temporal expression of antistasin during embryogenesis, we carried out semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Hau-antistasin1 was uniquely expressed at stage 4 of the cleavage and was strongly expressed in the late stages of organogenesis, as were other antistasin members. In order to confirm the spatial expression of antistasin, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization in the late stages of organogenesis. The expression of each antistasin in the proboscis showed a similar pattern and varied in expression in the body. In addition, the spatial expression of antistasin orthologs in different leeches showed the possibility of different function across leech species. Hau-antistasin1 was expressed in the same region as hedgehog, which is a known mediator of signal transduction pathway. Hau-antistasin1 is probably a downstream target of Hedgehog signaling, involved in segment polarity signal pathway.


Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Jagla ◽  
T. Jagla ◽  
P. Heitzler ◽  
G. Dretzen ◽  
F. Bellard ◽  
...  

ladybird early and ladybird late genes, tandemly located in the Drosophila 93E homeobox gene cluster, encode highly related homeodomain-containing transcription factors. Here we report the cloning of the complete cDNA sequences of both genes and a study of their expression and regulatory interactions with the segment polarity gene wingless in the epidermis. ladybird genes are co-expressed with wingless in epidermal cells close to the posterior parasegmental boundaries and in terminal regions of the body. In mutant embryos with altered wingless function, transcription of ladybird early and ladybird late is changed; it disappears completely from the epidermis in wingless-embryos, indicating wingless-dependence. After 6 hours of development, wingless expression is maintained by gooseberry in the ventral epidermis. However, in the dorsal epidermis and the terminal regions of the body, expression of wingless is independent of gooseberry but requires a wingless-ladybird regulatory feedback loop. Loss of ladybird function reduces the number of wingless-expressing cells in dorsal epidermis and leads to complete inactivation of wingless in the anal plate. Consequently, mutant ladybird embryos fail to develop anal plates and ubiquitous embryonic expression of either one or both ladybird genes leads to severe defects of the dorsal cuticle. Lack of late wingless expression and anal plate formation can be rescued with the use of a heat-shock-ladybird transgene.


1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D McCrea ◽  
W M Brieher ◽  
B M Gumbiner

We have obtained evidence that a known intracellular component of the cadherin cell-cell adhesion machinery, beta-catenin, contributes to the development of the body axis in the frog Xenopus laevis. Vertebrate beta-catenin is homologous to the Drosophila segment polarity gene product armadillo, and to vertebrate plakoglobin (McCrea, P. D., C. W. Turck, and B. Gumbiner. 1991. Science (Wash. DC). 254: 1359-1361.). Beta-Catenin was found present in all Xenopus embryonic stages examined, and associated with C-cadherin, the major cadherin present in early Xenopus embryos. To test beta-catenin's function, affinity purified Fab fragments were injected into ventral blastomeres of developing four-cell Xenopus embryos. A dramatic phenotype, the duplication of the dorsoanterior embryonic axis, was observed. Furthermore, Fab injections were capable of rescuing dorsal features in UV-ventralized embryos. Similar phenotypes have been observed in misexpression studies of the Wnt and other gene products, suggesting that beta-catenin participates in a signaling pathway which specifies embryonic patterning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Spurrett

Abstract Comprehensive accounts of resource-rational attempts to maximise utility shouldn't ignore the demands of constructing utility representations. This can be onerous when, as in humans, there are many rewarding modalities. Another thing best not ignored is the processing demands of making functional activity out of the many degrees of freedom of a body. The target article is almost silent on both.


Author(s):  
Wiktor Djaczenko ◽  
Carmen Calenda Cimmino

The simplicity of the developing nervous system of oligochaetes makes of it an excellent model for the study of the relationships between glia and neurons. In the present communication we describe the relationships between glia and neurons in the early periods of post-embryonic development in some species of oligochaetes.Tubifex tubifex (Mull. ) and Octolasium complanatum (Dugès) specimens starting from 0. 3 mm of body length were collected from laboratory cultures divided into three groups each group fixed separately by one of the following methods: (a) 4% glutaraldehyde and 1% acrolein fixation followed by osmium tetroxide, (b) TAPO technique, (c) ruthenium red method.Our observations concern the early period of the postembryonic development of the nervous system in oligochaetes. During this period neurons occupy fixed positions in the body the only observable change being the increase in volume of their perikaryons. Perikaryons of glial cells were located at some distance from neurons. Long cytoplasmic processes of glial cells tended to approach the neurons. The superimposed contours of glial cell processes designed from electron micrographs, taken at the same magnification, typical for five successive growth stages of the nervous system of Octolasium complanatum are shown in Fig. 1. Neuron is designed symbolically to facilitate the understanding of the kinetics of the growth process.


Author(s):  
J. J. Paulin

Movement in epimastigote and trypomastigote stages of trypanosomes is accomplished by planar sinusoidal beating of the anteriorly directed flagellum and associated undulating membrane. The flagellum emerges from a bottle-shaped depression, the flagellar pocket, opening on the lateral surface of the cell. The limiting cell membrane envelopes not only the body of the trypanosome but is continuous with and insheathes the flagellar axoneme forming the undulating membrane. In some species a paraxial rod parallels the axoneme from its point of emergence at the flagellar pocket and is an integral component of the undulating membrane. A portion of the flagellum may extend beyond the anterior apex of the cell as a free flagellum; the length is variable in different species of trypanosomes.


Author(s):  
C.D. Fermin ◽  
M. Igarashi

Otoconia are microscopic geometric structures that cover the sensory epithelia of the utricle and saccule (gravitational receptors) of mammals, and the lagena macula of birds. The importance of otoconia for maintanance of the body balance is evidenced by the abnormal behavior of species with genetic defects of otolith. Although a few reports have dealt with otoconia formation, some basic questions remain unanswered. The chick embryo is desirable for studying otoconial formation because its inner ear structures are easily accessible, and its gestational period is short (21 days of incubation).The results described here are part of an intensive study intended to examine the morphogenesis of the otoconia in the chick embryo (Gallus- domesticus) inner ear. We used chick embryos from the 4th day of incubation until hatching, and examined the specimens with light (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The embryos were decapitated, and fixed by immersion with 3% cold glutaraldehyde. The ears and their parts were dissected out under the microscope; no decalcification was used. For LM, the ears were embedded in JB-4 plastic, cut serially at 5 micra and stained with 0.2% toluidine blue and 0.1% basic fuchsin in 25% alcohol.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document