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Grafting of Beads into Developing Chicken Embryo Limbs to Identify Signal Transduction Pathways Affecting Gene Expression
Published on: January 17, 2016
Hedgehog-BMP signalling establishes dorsoventral patterning in lateral plate mesoderm to trigger gonadogenesis in
Takashi Yoshino1, Hidetaka Murai2, Daisuke Saito2
1Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Abstract:
The gonad appears in the early embryo after several events: cells at the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) undergo ingression, begin gonadal differentiation and then retain primordial germ cells (PGCs). Here we show that in the chicken embryo, these events are triggered on the basis of dorsoventral patterning at the medial LPM. Gonadal progenitor cells (GPCs) at the ventromedial LPM initiate gonadogenesis by undergoing ingression, whereas mesonephric capsule progenitor cells (MCPCs) at the dorsomedial LPM do not. These contrasting behaviours are caused by Hedgehog signalling, which is activated in GPCs but not in MCPCs. Inhibiting Hedgehog signalling prevents GPCs from forming gonadal structures and collecting PGCs. When activated by Hedgehog signalling, MCPCs form an ectopic gonad. This Hedgehog signalling is mediated by BMP4. These findings provide insight into embryonic patterning and gonadal initiation in the chicken embryo.
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