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

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Catenins01:23

Catenins

Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...
Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Wnt dynamics at the blastopore and stomodeum during sea urchin gastrulation.

Development (Cambridge, England)·2026
Same author

A stage and anatomy ontology for embryogenesis in indirect-developing echinoderms.

Development (Cambridge, England)·2026
Same author

Author Correction: A molecular basis for spine color morphs in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Reprogramming of cells during embryonic transfating: overcoming a reprogramming block.

Development (Cambridge, England)·2024
Same author

Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals Evolutionary Reconfiguration of Embryonic Cell Fate Specification in the Sea Urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma.

Genome biology and evolution·2024
Same author

A molecular basis for spine color morphs in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus.

Scientific reports·2024
Same journal

Tracking Synthetic Adhesins on Bacterial Surfaces with Immunofluorescence Microscopy.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
Same journal

Post-Selection Methods for Analyzing mRNA Display Selections and Optimization of Hits.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
Same journal

High-Performance Computing in Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) Peptide Identification.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
Same journal

Engineering and Adapting Disulfide-Containing Proteins to Enable Intracellular Functionality.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
Same journal

AI-Driven Protein Research: From Prediction to Design.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
Same journal

Methods for the In Vitro Selection of Protein and Peptide Libraries Using mRNA Display.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro
11:14

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Published on: December 10, 2021

Evolution of the Wnt pathways.

Jenifer C Croce1, David R McClay

  • 1Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|December 26, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Wnt signaling pathways are crucial for embryonic development, controlling cell behavior and developmental events. This review examines the evolutionary conservation of these pathways across eukaryotes.

More Related Videos

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
07:34

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions

Published on: February 16, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro
11:14

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Published on: December 10, 2021

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions
07:34

The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions

Published on: February 16, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Wnt proteins are key mediators of essential signaling pathways in embryonic development.
  • These pathways regulate critical cellular behaviors like fate determination, proliferation, and migration.
  • Wnt signaling is involved in fundamental embryological processes such as axis specification and organogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and analyze the molecular and functional conservation of Wnt signaling pathways.
  • To explore the evolutionary trajectory of Wnt pathway components across eukaryotic organisms.
  • To provide a comprehensive overview of Wnt pathway activators from protists to humans.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing data on Wnt pathways and their components.
  • Comparative analysis of Wnt gene and pathway component homologs across diverse eukaryotic models.
  • Examination of functional investigations across different species.

Main Results:

  • Identified three major Wnt signaling pathways, each with distinct extracellular, cytoplasmic, and nuclear components.
  • Documented the presence and conservation of Wnt pathway homologs in a wide range of eukaryotes.
  • Highlighted the conserved roles of Wnt signaling in fundamental developmental processes.

Conclusions:

  • Wnt signaling pathways exhibit significant molecular and functional conservation throughout eukaryotic evolution.
  • The Wnt gene family and its associated pathway components are ancient and fundamental to development.
  • Understanding Wnt pathway evolution provides insights into developmental mechanisms across diverse species.