Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2025
12:59
Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation
Published on: February 28, 2021
3.8K
Establishing and maintaining Hox profiles during spinal cord development.
Alexander Miller1, Jeremy S Dasen1
1NYU Neuroscience Institute and Developmental Genetics Programs, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology
|April 7, 2023
Summary
Hox genes are crucial for embryonic development. Research on spinal motor neuron differentiation reveals how these genes, along with morphogens and chromatin, control cell identity and gene expression in vertebrates.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The Hox gene family is essential for embryonic patterning and cell identity across animals.
- Understanding Hox gene function in vertebrate differentiation is challenging due to their large number and widespread expression.
- Spinal motor neuron (MN) subtype diversification offers a model to study Hox gene roles in differentiation and neuronal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of Hox genes during spinal motor neuron differentiation.
- To explore how neuronal fate determinants contribute to motor circuit assembly.
- To elucidate the roles of patterning morphogens and chromatin regulation in cell-type specific gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Utilized both in vitro and in vivo models of motor neuron subtype differentiation.
- Analyzed the effects of patterning morphogens on gene expression.
- Investigated the role of chromatin structure in regulating Hox gene activity.
Main Results:
- Identified key mechanisms by which patterning morphogens and chromatin structure dictate cell-type specific gene expression programs.
- Demonstrated the involvement of Hox genes in the subtype diversification of spinal motor neurons.
- Provided insights into the regulation of gene expression during neuronal differentiation.
Conclusions:
- Hox genes play critical roles in rostrocaudal patterning and neuronal fate specification in vertebrates.
- Mechanistic principles of gene regulation by Hox genes are revealed, applicable to other developmental systems.
- This research illuminates fundamental processes in the development and maintenance of cell identities.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Neurulation
42.2K
Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the...
42.2K
02:33Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
7.4K
The Hedgehog gene (Hh) was first discovered due to its control of the growth of disorganized, hair-like bristles phenotype in Drosophila, much like hedgehog spines. Hh plays a crucial role in the development of organs and the maintenance of homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, while Drosophila has only one Hh protein, mammals have multiple functional Hedgehog proteins - Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh), and Indian Hedgehog (Ihh). All of these homologous proteins have adapted to...
7.4K
01:51Determination
18.6K
During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
18.6K
02:23Master Transcription Regulators
7.0K
Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
7.0K
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
6.3K
Epigenetics is the study of inherited changes in a cell's phenotype without changing the DNA sequences. It provides a form of memory for the differential gene expression pattern to maintain cell lineage, position-effect variegation, dosage compensation, and maintenance of chromatin structures such as telomeres and centromeres. For example, the structure and location of the centromere on chromosomes are epigenetically inherited. Its functionality is not dictated or ensured by the underlying...
6.3K
01:15Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus
984
Development of the reproductive organs in an embryo starts from a bipotential state. This means the early embryo can develop either male or female reproductive organs. The formation of these organs begins with the growth of gonadal ridges that arise from the intermediate mesoderm during the fifth week of development.
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the...
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the...
984