IN VIVO myogenesis 2.1. Early vertebrate myogenesis Vertebrate myogenesis involves a number of steps controlled by a variety of signals and is ultimately orchestrated by regulatory events at the gene level in muscle cells. During vertebrate myogenesis the paraxial mesoderm becomes segmented into epithelial ball like structures named somites.
Somites differentiate into sclerotome and dermomyotome.
The dermomyotome will develop further into the dermatome and the myotome. With the exception of some head muscles, skeletal muscles arise from the dermomyotome. Much of these studies are currently performed in mouse. Specific MRF members are expressed in different regions of the differentiating myotome. In the dorsal part of the myotome,which gives rise to epaxial muscles, Myf-5 is an early orchestrator of determination events.