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An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
Published on: March 22, 2018
Coupling cellular oscillators: a mechanism that maintains synchrony against developmental noise in the segmentation
Kana Ishimatsu1, Kazuki Horikawa, Hiroyuki Takeda
1Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
A unique feature of vertebrate segmentation is its strict periodicity, which is governed by the segmentation clock consisting of numerous cellular oscillators. These cellular oscillators, driven by a negative-feedback loop of Hairy transcription factor, are linked through Notch-dependent intercellular coupling and display the synchronous expression of clock genes. Combining our transplantation experiments in zebrafish with mathematical simulations, we review how the cellular oscillators maintain synchrony and form a robust system that is resistant to the effects of developmental noise such as stochastic gene expression and active cell proliferation. The accumulated evidence indicates that the segmentation clock behaves as a "coupled oscillators," a mechanism that also underlies the synchronous flashing seen in fireflies.
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