Early Development: Invertebrates Brief overview of early developmental themes Early development of Sea Urchin Early development of Caenorhabditis elegans
Invertebrates? So what? Very easy to study Genetics and molecular events are highly conserved
Cleavage initiation Maternal Factors Mitosis Promoting Factor No Gaps at first Mid Blastula transition- Gene activation from Zygote nucleus.
Cell and nuclear division Karyokinesis Cytokinesis Centrioles and axis determination.
Patterns of Cell division
Gastrulation
Cell specification and Axis formation Cell-cell signaling or acquisition of cellular factors Bound to egg cytoplasm Actively transported Associate with centrioles
Sea Urchin: Initial Cleavage
Fate Mapping of Sea Urchin embryo
Global regulatory networks Maternal Factors Disheveled and -catenin -catenin and TCF- Micromere differentiation
Double Negative Gate GeneA Gene B Gene D Gene C Gene E Gene F
Double Negative Gate: Micromere Pmar1 HesC Thr Alx1 Ets Delta Otx/ -catenin
Double Negative Gate: Veg 2 cell Pmar1 HesC Thr Alx1 Ets Delta
Specification of Vegetal Cells Wnt signaling; Early Signal (ES); Delta (Notch) -catenin Blimp1 wnt autocrine; Endoderm differentiation Pmar1 and HesC regulate ES, which leads to mesoendoderm differentiation. Delta Mesoderm differentiation.
Axis specification Animal/Vegetal= Anterior/Posterior axis Nodal regulates Oral/Aboral axis
Gastrulation Blastula hatches from Fertilization envelope. Skeletogenic mesenchyme ingression. Vegetal plate involutes beginning invagination.
Gastrulation
Caenorhabditis elegans
C. elegans and Initial Cleavage
Anterior-Posterior Axis Sperm Pronucleus location Cyk-4 activates GTPases relocates PAR proteins to anterior P-granules: Ribonucleoprotein complex RNA helicases Poly A polymerases Translation initiators
Dorsal-Ventral/Left-Right Axis formation
Specification: Autonomous Maternal cytoplasmic factors SKN-1: EMS fate determination. PAL-1: Differentiation of P2 somatic descendents PIE-1: placed into P blastomeres via PAR-1, inhibits SKN-1 and PAL-1 in P cells.
Specification: Conditional Cell-cell signaling (Juxtacrine) Paracrine signaling
Gastrulation