bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Coordination of cellular events that precede reproductive onset in Acetabularia acetabulum: evidence for a ‘loop’ in development
Authors: Runft Linda L. , Mandoli Dina F. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Amputated apices from vegetative wildtype cells of the uninucleate green alga Acetabularia acetabulum can differentiate a reproductive structure or ‘cap’ in the absence of the nucleus (Hämmerling, J. (1932) Biologisches Zentral-blatt 52, 42-61). To define the limits of the ability of wild-type cells to control reproductive differentiation, we deter-mined when during development apices from wildtype cells first acquired the ability to make a cap in the absence of the nucleus and, conversely, when cells with a nucleus lost the ability to recover from the loss of their apices. To see when the apex acquired the ability to make a cap without the nucleus, we removed apices from cells varying either the developmental age of the cells or the cellular volume left with the apex. Cells must have attained the adult phase of development before the enucleate apex could survive amputation and make a cap. Apices removed from cells early in adult growth required more cell volume to make a cap without the nucleus than did apices removed from cells late in adult growth. To define the limits of the cell to recapitulate development when reproduction falters, we analyzed development in cells whose caps either had been amputated or had spontaneously aborted. After loss of the first cap, cells repeated part of vegetative growth and then made a second cap. The ability to make a second cap after amputation of the first one was lost 15-20 days after cap initiation. Our data suggest that internal cues, cell age and size, are used to regulate reproductive onset in Acetabularia acetabulum and add to our understanding of how repro-duction is coordinated in this giant cell.
Mutations in the PERIANTHIA gene of Arabidopsis specifically alter floral organ number and initiation pattern
Authors: Running Mark P. , Meyerowitz Elliot M. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
An open question in developmental biology is how groups of dividing cells can generate specific numbers of segments or organs. We describe the phenotypic effects of mutations in PERIANTHIA, a gene specifically required for floral organ patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana. Most wild-type Arabidopsis flowers have 4 sepals, 4 petals, 6 stamens, and 2 carpels. Flowers of perianthia mutant plants most commonly show a pentamerous pattern of 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 stamens, and 2 carpels. This pattern is characteristic of flowers in a number of plant families, but not in the family Brassicaceae, which includes Arabidopsis. Unlike previously described mutations affecting floral organ number, perianthia does not appear to affect apical or floral meristem sizes, nor is any other aspect of vegetative or floral development severely affected. Floral organs in perianthia arise in a regular, stereotypical pattern similar to that in distantly related species with pentamerous flowers. Genetic analysis shows that PERIANTHIA acts downstream of the floral meristem identity genes and independently of the floral meristem size and floral organ identity genes in establishing floral organ initiation patterns. Thus PERIANTHIA acts in a previously unidentified process required for organ patterning in Arabidopsis flowers.
Confocal microscopy analysis of living Xenopus eggs and the mechanism of cortical rotation
Authors: Larabell Carolyn A. , Rowning Brian A. , Wells Jonathan , Wu Mike , Gerhart John C. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
The dorsoventral body axis in amphibian embryos is established by a rotation of the outer cortex relative to the inner cytoplasmic core. This cortical rotation depends on microtubules and is correlated with a parallel array of microtubules just inside the vegetal cortex. Since the parallel array moves with the inner cytoplasm and most of its microtubules are oriented with their plus ends facing the direction of cortical movement, it has been suggested that plus end-directed motor molecules attached to the cortex drive the rotation by moving along microtubules of the parallel array. Using an inverted confocal microscope to examine living eggs, however, we found that rotation movements precede the formation of a detectable parallel array at the vegetal pole, that the parallel array consists of multiple layers of microtubules at depths ranging from 4 to 8 μm inside the plasma membrane and that the velocity of rotation in immobilized eggs increases with depth in this region. These findings suggest that (1) early cytoplasmic movements are due to something other than the fully formed parallel array and (2) the motor molecules responsible for the bulk of the rotation movement are not restricted to a monolayer at the subcortical interface but may be distributed throughout the parallel array, perhaps causing microtubules to slide along other microtubules by a mechanism similar to that seen in cilia and eukaryotic flagella.
The pruned gene encodes the Drosophila serum response factor and regulates cytoplasmic outgrowth during terminal branching of the tracheal system
Authors: Guillemin Karen , Groppe Jay , Dücker Klaus , Treisman Richard , Hafen Ernst , Affolter Markus , Krasnow Mark A. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
We identified a Drosophila gene, pruned, that regulates formation of the terminal branches of the tracheal (respiratory) system. These branches arise by extension of long cytoplasmic processes from terminal tracheal cells towards oxygen-starved tissues, followed by formation of a lumen within the processes. The pruned gene is expressed in terminal cells throughout the period of terminal branching. pruned encodes the Drosophila homologue of serum response factor (SRF), which functions with an ETS domain ternary complex factor as a growth-factoractivated transcription complex in mammalian cells. In pruned loss of function mutants, terminal cells fail to extend cytoplasmic projections. A constitutively activated SRF drives formation of extra projections that grow out in an unregulated fashion. An activated ternary complex factor has a similar effect. We propose that the Drosophila SRF functions like mammalian SRF in an inducible transcription complex, and that activation of this complex by signals from target tissues induces expression of genes involved in cytoplasmic outgrowth.
A role for mel-18, a Polycomb group-related vertebrate gene, during the anteroposterior specification of the axial skeleton
Authors: Akasaka Takeshi , Kanno Masamoto , Balling Rudi , Mieza Marco Antonio , Taniguchi Masaru , Koseki Haruhiko 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Segment identity in both invertebrates and vertebrates is conferred by spatially restricted distribution of homeotic gene products. In Drosophila, the expression of Homeobox genes during embryogenesis is initially induced by segmentation gene products and then maintained by Polycomb group and Trithorax group gene products. Polycomb group gene homologs are conserved in vertebrates. Murine mel-18 and closely related bmi-1 are homologous to posterior sex combs and suppressor two of zeste. Mel-18 protein mediates a transcriptional repression via direct binding to specific DNA sequences. To gain further insight into the function of Mel-18, we have inactivated the mel-18 locus by homologous recombination. Mice lacking mel-18 survive to birth and die around 4 weeks after birth after exhibiting strong growth retardation. Similar to the Drosophila posterior sex combs mutant, posterior transformations of the axial skeleton were reproducibly observed in mel-18 mutants. The homeotic transformations were correlated with ectopic expression of Homeobox cluster genes along the anteroposterior axis in the developing paraxial mesoderm. Surprisingly, mel-18deficient phenotypes are reminiscent of bmi-1 mutants. These results indicate that the vertebrate Polycomb group genes mel-18 and bmi-1, like Drosophila Polycomb group gene products, might play a crucial role in maintaining the silent state of Homeobox gene expression during paraxial mesoderm development.
Fates and migratory routes of primitive streak cells in the chick embryo
Authors: Psychoyos Delphine , Stern Claudio D. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
We have used carbocyanine dyes to fate map the primitive streak in the early chick embryo, from stages 3+ (mid-primitive streak) to 9 (8 somites). We show that presumptive notochord, foregut and medial somite do not originate solely from Hensen’s node, but also from the anterior primitive streak. At early stages (4− and 4), there is no correlation between specific anteroposterior levels of the primitive streak and the final position of their descendants in the notochord. We describe in detail the contribution of specific levels of the primitive streak to the medial and lateral halves of the somites.
To understand how the descendants of labelled cells reach their destinations in different tissues, we have followed the movement of labelled cells during their emigration from the primitive streak in living embryos, and find that cells destined to different structures follow defined pathways of movement, even if they arise from similar positions in the streak. Somite and notochord precursors migrate anteriorly within the streak and pass through different portions of the node; this provides an explanation for the segregation of notochord and somite territories in the node.
Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) acts during gastrula stages to cause ventralization of Xenopus embryos
Authors: Jones C. Michael , Dale Leslie , Hogan Brigid L. M. , Wright Christopher V. E. , Smith J. C. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Injection of RNA encoding BMP-4 into the early Xenopus embryo suppresses formation of dorsal and anterior cell types. To understand this phenomenon, it is necessary to know the stage at which BMP-4 acts. In this paper, we present three lines of evidence showing that BMP-4 misexpression has no effect on the initial steps of mesoderm induction, either dorsal or ventral, but instead causes ventralization during gastrulation. Firstly, activation of organizer-specific genes such as goosecoid, Xnot, pintallavis and noggin occurs normally in embryos injected with BMP-4 RNA, but transcript levels are then rapidly downregulated as gastrulation proceeds. Similarly, BMP-4 does not affect the initial activation of goosecoid by activin in animal caps, but expression then declines precipitously. Secondly, embryos made ventral by injection with BMP-4 RNA cannot be rescued by grafts of Spemann’s organizer at gastrula stages. Such embryos therefore differ from those made ventral by UV-irradiation, where the defect occurs early and rescue can be effected by the organizer. Finally, the dorsalizing effects of the organizer, and of the candidate dorsalizing signal noggin, both of which exert their effects during gastrulation, can be counteracted by BMP-4. Together, these experiments demonstrate that BMP-4 can act during gastrulation both to promote ventral mesoderm differentiation and to attenuate dorsalizing signals derived from the organizer.
The CLAVATA and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS loci competitively regulate meristem activity in Arabidopsis
Authors: Clark Steven E. , Jacobsen Steven E. , Levin Joshua Z. , Meyerowitz Elliot M. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
The CLAVATA (CLV1 and CLV3) and SHOOT MERI-STEMLESS (STM) genes specifically regulate shoot meristem development in Arabidopsis. CLV and STM appear to have opposite functions: clv1 and clv3 mutants accumulate excess undifferentiated cells in the shoot and floral meristem, while stm mutants fail to form the undifferentiated cells of the shoot meristem during embryonic development. We have identified a weak allele of stm (stm-2) that reveals STM is not only required for the establishment of the shoot meristem, but is also required for the continued maintenance of undifferentiated cells in the shoot meristem and for proper proliferation of cells in the floral meristem. We have found evidence of genetic interactions between the CLV and STM loci. clv1 and clv3 mutations partially suppressed the stm-1 and stm-2 phenotypes, and were capable of suppression in a dominant fashion. clv stm double mutants and plants homozygous for stm but heterozygous for clv, while still lacking an embryonic shoot meristem, exhibited greatly enhanced postembryonic shoot and floral meristem development. Although stm phenotypes are recessive, stm mutations dominantly suppressed clv homozygous and heterozygous phenotypes. These results indicate that the stm phenotype is sensitive to the levels of CLV activity, while the clv phenotype is sensitive to the level of STM activity. We propose that these genes play related but opposing roles in the regulation of cell division and/or cell differentiation in shoot and floral meristems.
A C. elegans Hox gene switches on, off, on and off again to regulate proliferation, differentiation and morphogenesis
Authors: Salser Stephen J. , Kenyon Cynthia 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Hox genes establish body pattern throughout the animal kingdom, but the role these genes play at the cellular level to modify and shape parts of the body remains a mystery. We find that the C. elegans Antennapedia homolog, mab-5, sequentially programs many independent events within individual cell lineages. In one body region, mab-5 first switches ON in a lineage to stimulate proliferation, then OFF to specify epidermal structures, then ON in just one branch of the lineage to promote neuroblast formation, and finally OFF to permit proper sense organ morphology. In a neighboring lineage, continuous mab-5 expression leads to a different pattern of development. Thus, this Hox gene achieves much of its power to diversify the anteroposterior axis through fine spatiotemporal differences in expression coupled with a changing pattern of cellular response.
Expression and function of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors at the maternal-embryonic boundary during mouse embryo implantation
Authors: Alexander Caroline M. , Hansell Elizabeth J. , Behrendtsen Ole , Flannery Margaret L. , Kishnani Nerendra S. , Hawkes Susan P. , Werb Zena 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Gelatinase B, a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) of high specific activity, is highly expressed and activated by mouse blastocysts in culture, and inhibition of this enzyme activity inhibits lysis of extracellular matrix (Behrendtsen, O., Alexander, C. M. and Werb, Z. (1992) Development 114, 447-456). Because gelatinase B expression is linked to invasive potential, we studied the expression of gelatinase B mRNA and protein in vivo, in implanting trophoblast giant cells, and found that it was expressed and activated during colonization of the maternal decidua. mRNAs for several other MMPs (stromelysin-1, stromelysin-3 and gelatinase A) and MMP inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) were expressed in the undifferentiated stroma toward the outside of the decidua, and TIMP-3 mRNA was expressed in primary and some mature decidual cells during their differentiation. Both mRNA and TIMP-3 protein were present at high concentrations transiently, and declined from 6.5 days post coitum onward, as the cells underwent apoptosis during the main period of gelatinase B expression and ectoplacental growth and expansion. To assess the function of MMPs during implantation and decidual development, we either injected a peptide hydroxamate MMP inhibitor into normal mice or studied transgenic mice over-expressing TIMP-1. In both cases, decidual length and overall size were reduced, and the embryo was displaced mesometrially. Embryo orientation was less strictly regulated in inhibitor-treated deciduae than in control deciduae. Morphogenesis and development of oil-induced deciduomas were also slowed in the presence of the inhibitor. We conclude that administration of MMP inhibitors retards decidual remodeling and growth, and we suggest that the MMPs expressed in precursor stromal cells promote their differentiation and expansion.
Anteroposterior patterning in the zebrafish, Danio rerio: an explant assay reveals inductive and suppressive cell interactions
Authors: Sagerström Charles G. , Grinblat Yevgenya , Sive Hazel 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
We report the first extended culture system for analysing zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryogenesis with which we demonstrate neural induction and anteroposterior patterning. Explants from the animal pole region of blastula embryos (‘animal caps’) survived for at least two days and increased in cell number. Mesodermal and neural-specific genes were not expressed in cultured animal caps, although low levels of the dorsoanterior marker otx2 were seen. In contrast, we observed strong expression of gta3, a ventral marker and cyt1, a novel type I cytokeratin expressed in the outer enveloping layer. Isolated ‘embryonic shield’, that corresponds to the amphibian organizer and amniote node, went on to express the mesodermal genes gsc and ntl, otx2, the anterior neural marker pax6, and posterior neural markers eng3 and krx20. The expression of these genes defined a precise anteroposterior axis in shield explants.
When conjugated to animal caps, the shield frequently induced expression of anterior neural markers. More posterior markers were rarely induced, suggesting that anterior and posterior neural induction are separable events. Mesodermal genes were also seldom activated in animal caps by the shield, demonstrating that neural induction did not require co-induction of mesoderm in the caps. Strikingly, ventral marginal zone explants suppressed the low levels of otx2 in animal caps, indicating that ventral tissues may play an active role in axial patterning. These data suggest that anteroposterior patterning in the zebrafish is a multi-step process.
Salivary duct determination in Drosophila: roles of the EGF receptor signaling pathway and the transcription factors Fork head and Trachealess
Authors: Kuo Yien Ming , Jones Nikolas , Zhou Bing , Panzer Scott , Larson Veda , Beckendorf Steven K. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Organogenesis in Drosophila embryos begins at 4-5 hours of development as the expression of organ-specific genes is initiated. The salivary primordium, which occupies the ventral epidermis of parasegment 2, is among the earliest to be defined. It is soon divided into two distinct regions: the more dorsal pregland cells and the more ventral preduct cells. We show that it is the opposing activities of the Drosophila EGF receptor (DER) signaling pathway and the Fork head transcription factor that distinguish these cell types and set up the boundary between them. DER signaling acts ventrally to block fork head expression in the preduct cells, thereby restricting gland identity to the more dorsal cells. Fork head in turn blocks expression of ductspecific genes in the pregland cells, thereby restricting duct identity to the more ventral cells. A third regulatory activity, the Trachealess transcription factor, is also required to establish the identity of the preduct cells, but we show that it acts independently or downstream from the DER:fork head confrontation. In trachealess mutants, subdivision of the salivary primordium occurs normally and the dorsal cells form glands, but the ventral cells are undetermined. We present a model proposing that trachealess is the crucial duct-specific gene that Fork head represses to distinguish pregland from preduct cells.
Reorganization of membrane contacts prior to apoptosis in the Drosophila retina: the role of the IrreC-rst protein
Authors: Reiter Christian , Schimansky Thorsten , Nie Zhiping , Fischbach Karl-Friedrich 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
The final step of pattern formation in the developing retina of Drosophila is the elimination of excess cells between ommatidia and the differentiation of the remaining cells into secondary and tertiary pigment cells. Temporally and spatially highly regulated expression of the irregular chiasmC-roughest protein, an adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily known to be involved in axonal pathfinding, is essential for correct sorting of cell-cell contacts in the pupal retina without which the ensuing wave of apoptosis does not occur. Irregular chiasmC-roughest accumulates strongly at the borders between primary pigment and interommatidial cells. Mutant and misexpression analysis show that this accumulation of the irregular chiasmC-roughest protein is necessary for aligning interommatidial cells in a single row. This reorganisation is a prerequisite for the identification of death candidates. Irregular chiasmC-roughest function in retinal development demonstrates the importance of specific cell contacts for assignment of the apoptotic fate.
Isolation and characterization of two new morphogenetically active peptides from Hydra vulgaris
Authors: Hoffmeister Sabine A. H. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Foot-specific differentiation processes in hydra are controlled by activating and inhibiting potentials. In an attempt to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, two substances were isolated from Hydra vulgaris that stimulate foot-specific differentiation measured as acceleration of foot regeneration. These sub-stances were shown to be peptides of 13 and 21 amino acids, respectively, with sequences that bear no significant homology to known peptides or proteins. Polyclonal antibodies were raised against both peptides. The data obtained by biological and radioimmunoassays show that the shorter peptide, pedin, is an excellent candidate for a major component of the ‘foot-activating potential’.
Activation of p90rsk during meiotic maturation and first mitosis in mouse oocytes and eggs: MAP kinase-independent and -dependent activation
Authors: Kalab Petr , Kubiak Jacek Z. , Verlhac Marie-Hélène , Colledge William H. , Maro Bernard 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) become activated during the meiotic maturation of oocytes from many species; however, their molecular targets remain unknown. This led us to characterize the activation of the ribosomal subunit S6 kinase of Mr 82×103-92×103 (p90rsk; a major substrate of MAPK in somatic cells) in maturing mouse oocytes and during the first cell cycle of the mouse embryo. We assessed the phosphorylation state of p90rsk by examining the electrophoretic mobility shifts on immunoblots and measured the kinase activity of immuno-precipitated p90rsk on a S6-derived peptide. Germinal vesicle stage (GV) oocytes contained a doublet of Mr 82×103 and 84×103 with a low S6 peptide kinase activity (12% of the maximum level found in metaphase II oocytes). A band of Mr 86×103 was first observed 30 minutes after GV breakdown (GVBD) and became prominent within 2 to 3 hours. MAPK was not phosphorylated 1 hour after GVBD, when the p90rsk-specific S6 kinase activity reached 37% of the M II level. 2 hours after GVBD, MAPK became phos-phorylated and p90rsk kinase activity reached 86% of the maximum level. The p90rsk band of Mr 88×103, present in mature M II oocytes when S6 peptide kinase activity is maximum, appeared when MAPK phosphorylation was nearly complete (2.5 hours after GVBD). In activated eggs, the dephosphorylation of p90rsk to Mr 86×103 starts about 1 hour after the onset of pronuclei formation and continues very slowly until the beginning of mitosis, when the doublet of Mr 82×103 and 84×103 reappears. A role for a M-phase activated kinase (like p34cdc2) in p90rsk activation was suggested by the reappearance of the Mr 86×103 band during first mitosis and in 1-cell embryos arrested in M phase by nocodazole. The requirement of MAPK for the full activation of p90rsk during meiosis was demonstrated by the absence of the fully active Mr 88×103 band in maturing c-mos−/− oocytes, where MAPK is not activated. The inhibition of kinase activity in activated eggs by 6-DMAP after second polar body extrusion provided evidence that both MAPK- and p90rsk-specific phos-phatases are activated at approximately the same time prior to pronuclei formation.