Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Morphogenesis02:19

Morphogenesis

Plant morphogenesis—the development of a plant’s form and structure—involves several overlapping developmental processes, including growth and cell differentiation. Precursor cells differentiate into specific cell types, which are organized into the tissues and organ systems that make up the functional plant.
Whole Body Regeneration01:33

Whole Body Regeneration

Regeneration is the process of restoring injured or lost tissues, organs, or body parts. While simpler organisms generally show greater ability to regenerate their whole body, few complex animals show similarly exceptional regeneration. For example, planarian flatworms have a unique regenerative potential making them a popular study organism among biologists to understand the mechanisms of whole body regeneration. Other organisms, such as hydra, also show extreme regeneration potential; even...
Forced Transdifferentiation01:28

Forced Transdifferentiation

Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
Gradient Fields01:27

Gradient Fields

A gradient field is a vector field derived from a scalar field. A scalar field assigns a single numerical value to every point in space, such as temperature, pressure, or electric potential. The gradient field describes how that value changes from point to point. It gives both the direction of the fastest increase and the rate of change in that direction.For a scalar field f(x, y), the gradient is written as\begin{equation*}\nabla f=\left\langle \jfrac{\partial f}{\partial x},\jfrac{\partial...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The inherent fragility of collective proliferative control.

iScience·2025
Same author

Bridging single cells to organs: Mesoscale modules as fundamental units of tissue function.

Cell·2025
Same author

Statistically principled feature selection for single cell transcriptomics.

BMC bioinformatics·2025
Same author

Regulation of feather length: FGF/IGF signaling and NOTCH/YAP modulation of progenitor cell topology.

Science advances·2025
Same author

Uncovering minimal pathways in melanoma initiation.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Epithelial cell competition is promoted by signaling from immune cells.

Nature communications·2025
Same journal

Co-option of lysosomal machinery shapes the evolution of the intracellular photosymbiosis supporting coral reefs.

Cell·2026
Same journal

LEF1 and niche factors determine T cell stemness across chronic diseases.

Cell·2026
Same journal

Recurrent patterns of TOP1-mediated neuronal genomic damage shared by major neurodegenerative disorders.

Cell·2026
Same journal

Four-dimensional molecular mapping from a spatial snapshot reveals the dynamics of hair follicle organogenesis.

Cell·2026
Same journal

Whole-cell particle-based digital twin simulations from 4D lattice light-sheet microscopy data.

Cell·2026
Same journal

Systematic discovery of pathogen effector functions across human pathogens and pathways.

Cell·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio
12:31

In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio

Published on: August 24, 2013

Morpheus unbound: reimagining the morphogen gradient.

Arthur D Lander1

  • 1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, Developmental Biology Center and Center for Complex Biological Systems, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. adlander@uci.edu

Cell
|January 27, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Morphogen gradients guide cell fate determination in developmental biology. Recent studies reveal complex regulatory mechanisms underlying these gradients, suggesting their functions are more extensive than previously understood.

More Related Videos

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
08:10

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients

Published on: December 14, 2015

Optogenetic Signaling Activation in Zebrafish Embryos
07:18

Optogenetic Signaling Activation in Zebrafish Embryos

Published on: October 27, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio
12:31

In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio

Published on: August 24, 2013

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
08:10

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients

Published on: December 14, 2015

Optogenetic Signaling Activation in Zebrafish Embryos
07:18

Optogenetic Signaling Activation in Zebrafish Embryos

Published on: October 27, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Morphogen gradients are fundamental to understanding spatial cell fate determination.
  • The existence of morphogens is well-established in developmental biology.
  • However, the precise formation and function of morphogen gradients remain incompletely understood, presenting numerous research questions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing morphogen gradient formation and function.
  • To investigate the complexity of morphogen gradient systems in developmental processes.
  • To re-evaluate the perceived scope of tasks orchestrated by morphogen gradients.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of existing literature on morphogen gradient studies.
  • Comparative examination of regulatory mechanisms across different morphogen systems.
  • Theoretical modeling of gradient formation and interpretation.

Main Results:

  • Morphogen gradients employ a diverse and rich set of regulatory mechanisms.
  • These mechanisms suggest a more complex role for gradients than initially proposed.
  • The spatial organization of cell fate involves sophisticated molecular interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Morphogen gradients are critical for cell fate specification, utilizing complex regulatory networks.
  • The functional repertoire of morphogen gradients is broader than previously appreciated.
  • Further research into these regulatory mechanisms is essential for a comprehensive understanding of development.