Competent steps in determination of cell fate.
Competence is an active state that defines the way in which cells respond to an inductive signal. A challenge of developmental biology is to explain not just the nature of the signalling molecules that promote cell specification or differentiation, but also how cells acquire competence to respond to these signals and what that reflects in molecular terms. A recent paper by Carmena et al. has revealed how several signalling mechanisms are used sequentially and in specific combinations to specify two mesodermal lineages in Drosophila.
Wilson
R
R
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Germany. r.wilson@uni-koeln.de
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D008648:Mesoderm; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells; D051155:Wnt1 Protein
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C064196:dpp protein, Drosophila; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila