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Gastrulation

Gastrulation

Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Imaging of Cell Shape Alteration and Cell Movement in Drosophila Gastrulation Using DE-cadherin Reporter Transgenic Flies

Imaging of Cell Shape Alteration and Cell Movement in Drosophila Gastrulation Using DE-cadherin Reporter Transgenic Flies

Published on: December 29, 2016

Setting up for gastrulation: D. melanogaster.

Angelike Stathopoulos¹, Susan Newcomb¹

¹Division of Biology & Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States.

Current Topics in Developmental Biology

|January 22, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Early Drosophila embryos pattern gene expression programs for germ layer specification. This involves genome reprogramming and transcription factor networks coordinating cell differentiation and morphology during early gastrulation.

Keywords:

Anterior-posterior patterning Dorsal-ventral patterning Drosophila melanogaster Ectoderm Embryonic development Endoderm Gastrulation Germ-band elongation Maternal-to-zygotic transition Mesoderm Morphogen gradients Syncytium

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Genetics
Cell biology

Background:

Drosophila melanogaster embryos initially develop as a syncytium before cellularization.
Gastrulation involves morphogenetic movements to form the three somatic germ layers: mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm.

Purpose of the Study:

To focus on the initial phase of Drosophila gastrulation, specifically embryo patterning.
To explore the gene regulatory programs governing germ layer specification.

Main Methods:

Analysis of genome reprogramming during the maternal-to-zygotic transition.
Investigation of transcription factor combinatorial actions in gene expression.
Examination of the feedback between genetic patterning and cell morphology changes.

Main Results:

Patterning requires coordinated developmental processes, including transcription factor activity.
Gene expression spatiotemporal regulation is coupled with physical tissue morphogenesis.
Gene regulatory programs specify distinct germ layers through complex interactions.

Conclusions:

The early patterning phase of Drosophila gastrulation is crucial for germ layer specification.
Coordination of genetic and cellular processes underlies embryonic development.
Understanding these mechanisms provides insights into fundamental developmental biology.