Apolar mode of gastrulation leads to the formation of polarized larva in a marine hydroid,Dynamena pumila

BackgroundIn almost all metazoans examined to this respect, the axial patterning system based on canonical Wnt (cWnt) signaling operates throughout the course of development. In most metazoans, gastrulation is polar, and embryos develop morphological landmarks of axial polarity, such as blastopore under control/regulation from Wnt signaling. However, in many cnidarian species, gastrulation is morphologically apolar. The question remains whether сWnt signaling providing the establishment of a body axis controls morphogenetic processes involved in apolar gastrulation.ResultsIn this study, we focused on the embryonic development ofDynamena pumila, a cnidarian species with apolar gastrulation. We thoroughly described cell behavior, proliferation, and ultrastructure and examined axial patterning in the embryos of this species. We revealed that the first signs of morphological polarity appear only after the end of gastrulation, while molecular prepatterning of the embryo does exist during gastrulation. We have shown experimentally that inD. pumila,the morphological axis is highly robust against perturbations in cWnt activity.ConclusionOur results suggest that morphogenetic processes are uncoupled from molecular axial patterning during gastrulation inD. pumila. Investigation ofD. pumilamight significantly expand our understanding of the ways in which morphological polarization and axial molecular patterning are linked in Metazoa.