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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

A Microfluidics Approach for the Functional Investigation of Signaling Oscillations Governing Somitogenesis

A Microfluidics Approach for the Functional Investigation of Signaling Oscillations Governing Somitogenesis

Published on: March 19, 2021

Signalling dynamics in vertebrate segmentation.

Alexis Hubaud¹, Olivier Pourquié¹

¹1] Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), CNRS (UMR 7104), Inserm U964, Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, 67400, France. [2] Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Department of Pathology, Brigham and Woman's Hospital, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.

Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology

|October 23, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Vertebrate development involves segmentation of the paraxial mesoderm into somites, driven by a molecular segmentation clock. This clock coordinates gene expression via signalling gradients, establishing the body

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Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Segmentation of paraxial mesoderm is crucial for vertebrate body axis patterning.
Somite formation relies on the segmentation clock, a molecular oscillator controlling gene expression.
The wavefront, a system of travelling signalling gradients, gates the response to the clock's periodic signals.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying segmentation clock oscillations.
To understand how these oscillations interact and coordinate gene expression for somite formation.
To investigate the role of signalling gradients (wavefront) in establishing segmental patterns.

Main Methods:

Analysis of molecular oscillators and signalling pathways involved in somitogenesis.
Investigating gene expression patterns in the presomitic mesoderm.
Studying the dynamics of travelling signalling gradients.

Main Results:

Recent studies have advanced the understanding of segmentation clock generation.
Insights into the coordination of molecular oscillations and signalling pathways.
Progress in understanding how these elements activate the segmental gene expression program.

Conclusions:

The segmentation clock and wavefront system are key regulators of vertebrate somitogenesis.
Coordinated molecular mechanisms ensure precise metameric patterning of the body axis.
Further research continues to unravel the complexities of this developmental process.