Cytoskeletal coordination and intercellular signalling during metazoan embryogenesis

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Cell Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Recent discoveries highlight novel cell surface organization and cytoskeletal deployment.
• These features may form a new basis for intercellular signaling in metazoan embryogenesis.
• Such signaling could coordinate tissue development via spatiotemporal integration of cytoskeletal networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine evidence for intercellular cytoskeletal/plasma membrane connecting systems.
• To investigate the role of these systems in coordinating cytoskeletal organization during embryonic development.
• To explore the potential involvement in establishing embryonic field boundaries and pre-adaptation in protozoans.

Main Methods:

• Critical examination of existing evidence on cytoskeletal/plasma membrane connections.
• Analysis of cell surface organization in protozoans and its implications for multicellularity.
• Consideration of cytoskeletal coordination in sister cells during animal and plant development.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests intercellular cytoskeletal/plasma membrane connecting systems operate in animal tissues.
• These systems likely coordinate the organization of microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments.
• The system is proposed to respond to positional information and establish field boundaries, rather than transmit positional information itself.

Conclusions:

• Intercellular cytoskeletal/plasma membrane connecting systems play a role in metazoan embryogenesis, particularly in establishing early field boundaries.
• Protozoan cell surface organization suggests pre-adaptation for cytoskeletal/cell surface signaling.
• This signaling mechanism appears less utilized in plant morphogenesis compared to animal development.