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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Published on: July 24, 2014

Evolutionary plasticity of segmentation clock networks.

Aurélie J Krol¹, Daniela Roellig, Mary-Lee Dequéant

¹Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.

Development (Cambridge, England)

|June 10, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The vertebral column

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Evolutionary biology
Genetics

Background:

The vertebral column's segmental pattern is crucial for vertebrate development.
This pattern arises from rhythmic somite production regulated by a segmentation clock in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the molecular components of the segmentation clock across different vertebrate species.
To understand the evolutionary conservation and divergence of gene networks controlling somitogenesis.

Main Methods:

Comparative analysis of oscillatory transcriptomes from mouse, chicken, and zebrafish PSM.
Identification of cyclic genes involved in key signaling pathways like Notch, Wnt, and FGF.

Main Results:

Identified conserved oscillatory networks comprising 40-100 cyclic genes in the PSM of the studied species.
Despite conserved signaling pathways, the specific cyclic genes differed significantly across species, revealing evolutionary plasticity.

Conclusions:

The segmentation clock relies on conserved signaling pathways but exhibits significant evolutionary divergence in its molecular components.
This highlights the adaptability of developmental gene networks during vertebrate evolution.