PUBLICATION

Dynamics of BMP signaling and distribution during zebrafish dorsal-ventral patterning

Authors
Pomreinke, A.P., Soh, G.H., Rogers, K.W., Bergmann, J.K., Bläßle, A.J., Müller, P.
ID
ZDB-PUB-170901-3
Date
2017
Source
eLIFE   6: (Journal)
Registered Authors
Müller, Patrick, Rogers, Katherine
Keywords
computational biology, developmental biology, stem cells, systems biology, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Body Patterning*
  • Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2/metabolism*
  • Glycoproteins/metabolism*
  • Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
28857744 Full text @ Elife
Abstract
During vertebrate embryogenesis, dorsal-ventral patterning is controlled by the BMP/Chordin activator/inhibitor system. BMP induces ventral fates, whereas Chordin inhibits BMP signaling on the dorsal side. Several theories can explain how the distributions of BMP and Chordin are regulated to achieve patterning, but the assumptions regarding activator/inhibitor diffusion and stability differ between models. Notably, "shuttling" models in which the BMP distribution is modulated by a Chordin-mediated increase in BMP diffusivity have gained recent prominence. Here, we directly test five major models by measuring the biophysical properties of fluorescently tagged BMP2b and Chordin in zebrafish embryos. We found that BMP2b and Chordin diffuse and rapidly form extracellular protein gradients, Chordin does not modulate the diffusivity or distribution of BMP2b, and Chordin is not required to establish peak levels of BMP signaling. Our findings challenge current self-regulating reaction-diffusion and shuttling models and provide support for a graded source-sink mechanism underlying zebrafish dorsal-ventral patterning.
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