TGF-β signaling molecules in Hydra: role of BMP and BMP inhibitors during pattern formation

Understanding the evolution of body plans has been one of the major areas of investigation in developmental and evolutionary biology. Cnidaria, the sister group to bilaterians, provides an opportunity to elucidate the origin and evolution of body axes. Hydra, a freshwater cnidarian, is a useful model to study signaling pathways governing pattern formation, which are conserved up to vertebrates including humans. The transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling pathway is one of the fundamental pathways that regulate axis formation and organogenesis during embryonic development. In this article, we discuss the TGF-β pathway members identified in Hydra along with other cnidarians with an emphasis on bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their inhibitors. TGF-β members, especially those involved in BMP signaling pathway, are mainly involved in maintaining the Organizer region and patterning the body axis in Hydra. Identification of other members of this pathway in Hydra and fellow cnidarians would provide insights into the evolution of body axes and pattern formation in more complex metazoans.