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Updated: May 27, 2026

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
Signaling pathways and axis formation in the lower metazoa
Thomas W Holstein1, Hiroshi Watanabe, Suat Ozbek
1Department of Molecular Evolution and Genomics, Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, Germany.
Abstract:
The determination of the body axis in the last common ancestor of bilaterian animals is still a matter of debate. While Hox genes pattern the formation of the primary, anteroposterior body axis in bilaterians, there is growing evidence from lower metazoans that the Wnt/β-catenin pathway acts as the primordial signaling system in this process. This review summarizes molecular data from recent genomic analyses of basal model organisms with a focus on the evolution of signaling pathways involved in the establishment of the primary and successive body axes during early metazoan evolution.
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