title: Vertebrate endoderm development.
abstract: Endoderm, one of the three principal germ layers, contributes to all organs of the alimentary tract. For simplicity, this review divides formation of endodermal organs into four fundamental steps: (a) formation of endoderm during gastrulation, (b) morphogenesis of a gut tube from a sheet of cells, (c) budding of organ domains from the tube, and (d) differentiation of organ-specific cell types within the growing buds. We discuss possible mechanisms that regulate how undifferentiated endoderm becomes specified into a myriad of cell types that populate the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. wells@biohp.harvard.edu
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Melton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004064:Digestive System / Q000196:embryology; D004707:Endoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology*