title: Morphogen gradient interpretation.
abstract: A morphogen gradient is an important concept in developmental biology, because it describes a mechanism by which the emission of a signal from one part of an embryo can determine the location, differentiation and fate of many surrounding cells. The value of this idea has been clear for over half a century, but only recently have experimental systems and methods of analysis progressed to the point where we begin to understand how a cell can sense and respond to tiny changes in minute concentrations of extracellular signalling factors.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome/CRC Institute, Cambridge, UK. j.gurdon@welc.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gurdon
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Bourillot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology; D004627:Embryonic Induction; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D002630:Chemotactic Factors