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Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

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 Pathway

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 Pathways

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 Pathways

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...

Whole Body Regeneration

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...

Pleiotropy

Pleiotropy

Pleiotropy is the phenomenon in which a single gene impacts multiple, seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits. For example, defects in the SOX10 gene cause Waardenburg Syndrome Type 4, or WS4, which can cause defects in pigmentation, hearing impairments, and an absence of intestinal contractions necessary for elimination. This diversity of phenotypes results from the expression pattern of SOX10 in early embryonic and fetal development. SOX10 is found in neural crest cells that form melanocytes,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

A Possible Zebrafish Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease: Knockdown of wnt5a Causes Cysts in Zebrafish Kidneys

A Possible Zebrafish Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease: Knockdown of wnt5a Causes Cysts in Zebrafish Kidneys

Published on: December 2, 2014

Wnt gene loss in flatworms.

Nick Riddiford¹, Peter D Olson

¹Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.

Development Genes and Evolution

|September 6, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Flatworms, including parasitic tapeworms, possess a reduced set of Wnt genes compared to planarians. These Wnt genes and their signaling pathways remain functional, crucial for development.

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Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Published on: December 10, 2021

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Last Updated: May 29, 2026

A Possible Zebrafish Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease: Knockdown of wnt5a Causes Cysts in Zebrafish Kidneys

A Possible Zebrafish Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease: Knockdown of wnt5a Causes Cysts in Zebrafish Kidneys

Published on: December 2, 2014

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Modeling Paracrine Noncanonical Wnt Signaling In Vitro

Published on: December 10, 2021

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Genomics
Parasitology

Background:

Wnt genes are vital for cell-cell signaling in development.
Their role in parasitic flatworm development is largely unknown.
Planarian regeneration highlights Wnt importance in free-living flatworms.

Purpose of the Study:

Characterize Wnt genes in the tapeworm Hymenolepis microstoma.
Investigate Wnt gene presence in parasitic and free-living flatworms.
Determine the functionality of Wnt signaling pathways in tapeworms.

Main Methods:

BLAST and phylogenetic analyses to identify Wnt orthologs.
Genomic resource mining for Wnt genes and signaling components.
RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) to analyze gene expression patterns.

Main Results:

Flatworms have a reduced Wnt gene repertoire (5 subfamilies) compared to planarians (9).
Parasitic flatworms have fewer Wnt paralogs (5-6) than planarians (9).
Canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathways are functional, with intact signaling components.

Conclusions:

Wnt gene loss is extensive in flatworms.
The last common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria likely had all contemporary Wnts.
Wnt signaling is functional in parasitic tapeworms, despite gene reduction.