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Related Experiment Videos

The MAPK cascade in equally cleaving spiralian embryos.

J David Lambert1, Lisa M Nagy

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

Developmental Biology
|November 5, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling is crucial for axial development in spiralian embryos. While conserved in molluscs, evolutionary shifts in MAPK activation timing suggest changes in embryonic axis specification.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Evolutionary developmental biology
  • Cell signaling

Background:

  • Spiralian development, common to several protostome phyla, features regularities in early cleavage, fate mapping, and larval forms.
  • The D quadrant lineage is implicated as the organizer of embryonic axial development across various spiralian species.
  • Mechanisms of D quadrant specification vary, differing between species with equal and unequal spiral cleavage.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the molecular mechanisms of D quadrant patterning in spiralians, focusing on the role of MAPK signaling.
  • To compare MAPK pathway activation in equally cleaving spiralian embryos with previously studied unequally cleaving embryos.
  • To determine the functional requirement of MAPK signaling in axis specification in equally cleaving spiralians.

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Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of MAPK pathway activation across four species with equal spiral cleavage: three molluscs (Chiton, Tectura, Lymnaea) and one annelid (Hydroides).
  • Experimental inhibition of MAPK activation in Tectura to assess its functional role in embryonic development.
  • Utilizing existing data on MAPK pathway function in the unequally cleaving mollusc Ilyanassa obsoleta.

Main Results:

  • In three equally cleaving molluscs, MAPK pathway activation was observed in the 3D cell but not in overlying micromeres.
  • In the annelid Hydroides, MAPK activation occurred in the 4d cell, a daughter of 3D, rather than in 3D itself.
  • Inhibition of MAPK activation in Tectura disrupted the differentiation of 3D and its induced cells, confirming MAPK's role in axis specification.

Conclusions:

  • MAPK signaling likely plays a conserved role in the D quadrant organizer cell (3D) in molluscs.
  • Evolutionary analysis reveals at least two instances of MAPK pathway activation changes during spiralian evolution.
  • A shift in the timing of MAPK activation (from 3D to 4d) post-annelid-mollusc divergence may correlate with changes in secondary embryonic axis specification timing.