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Multifaceted role of ecdysone in regulating organ growth and patterning
Laura Boulan1, Christen Mirth2
1CRBM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
None:
Ecdysone, the major steroid hormone in insects, coordinates developmental progression by coupling systemic hormonal pulses to tissue-specific cellular responses. In this review, we explore its multifaceted roles in regulating organ growth and patterning, highlighting how a single hormone can elicit diverse - and sometimes opposing - outcomes depending on cell type, developmental stage, and hormone concentration. These context-dependent responses are shaped by cell-specific chromatin landscapes, stage-specific transcription factors, and dynamic changes in cellular competence over time, ensuring that successive ecdysone pulses trigger appropriate developmental programs across tissues and life stages. Understanding how such precise spatial and temporal control is achieved remains a central and fascinating question, providing key insight into how a single hormonal signal can orchestrate the remarkable complexity of animal development.
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