Clocked gene expression in somite formation.
A recent paper describes a striking expression pattern during somite formation for a chick ortholog of the fly hairy gene. Before segmentation, c-hairy1 mRNA oscillates in the presomitic mesoderm such that three distinct spatial patterns are seen. The authors use a series of ingenious manipulations to show that these phases follow each other in time, adding up to a 90-minute periodicity in c-hairy1 expression. The discovery of this clock of gene expression emphasizes the importance of temporally regulated events in the establishment of spatial patterns.
Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. cds20@columbia.edu
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D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000235:genetics*; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics; D002642:Chick Embryo; D004330:Drosophila; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008954:Models, Biological; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019170:Somites / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism
D030161:Avian Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D011506:Proteins; C109424:hairy1 protein, Gallus gallus