TY - JOUR
T1 - Dorsal gradient networks in the Drosophila embryo
AU - Stathopoulos, Angelike
AU - Levine, Michael
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank members of the Levine lab for helpful discussions, and John Cowden for providing the sim staining depicted in Fig. 4. This work was funded by a grant from the NIH (GM46638) to M.L. A.S. is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the NIH (GM20352).
PY - 2002/6/1
Y1 - 2002/6/1
N2 - Here, we describe one of the major maternal regulatory gradients, Dorsal, and threshold outputs of gene expression that result from the graded distribution of this transcription factor. The analysis of a large number of authentic and synthetic target genes suggests that the Dorsal gradient directly specifies at least four, and possibly as many as seven, different thresholds of gene activity and tissue differentiation. These thresholds initiate the differentiation of the three primary embryonic tissues: the mesoderm, neurogenic ectoderm, and dorsal ectoderm. Moreover, primary readouts of the Dorsal gradient create asymmetries that subdivide each tissue into multiple cell types during gastrulation. Dorsal patterning thresholds represent the culmination of one of the most complete gene regulation network known in development, which begins with the asymmetric positioning of the oocyte nucleus within the egg chamber and leads to the localized activation of the Toll-Dorsal signaling pathway in ventral regions of the early embryo.
AB - Here, we describe one of the major maternal regulatory gradients, Dorsal, and threshold outputs of gene expression that result from the graded distribution of this transcription factor. The analysis of a large number of authentic and synthetic target genes suggests that the Dorsal gradient directly specifies at least four, and possibly as many as seven, different thresholds of gene activity and tissue differentiation. These thresholds initiate the differentiation of the three primary embryonic tissues: the mesoderm, neurogenic ectoderm, and dorsal ectoderm. Moreover, primary readouts of the Dorsal gradient create asymmetries that subdivide each tissue into multiple cell types during gastrulation. Dorsal patterning thresholds represent the culmination of one of the most complete gene regulation network known in development, which begins with the asymmetric positioning of the oocyte nucleus within the egg chamber and leads to the localized activation of the Toll-Dorsal signaling pathway in ventral regions of the early embryo.
KW - Dorsal
KW - Drosophila embryo
KW - Gene network
KW - Gradient
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036607116&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0036607116&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1006/dbio.2002.0652
DO - 10.1006/dbio.2002.0652
M3 - Review article
C2 - 12027434
AN - SCOPUS:0036607116
SN - 0012-1606
VL - 246
SP - 57
EP - 67
JO - Developmental biology
JF - Developmental biology
IS - 1
ER -