title: Move it or lose it: axis specification in Xenopus.
abstract: A long-standing question in developmental biology is how amphibians establish a dorsoventral axis. The prevailing view has been that cortical rotation is used to move a dorsalizing activity from the bottom of the egg towards the future dorsal side. We review recent evidence that kinesin-dependent movement of particles containing components of the Wnt intracellular pathway contributes to the formation of the dorsal organizer, and suggest that cortical rotation functions to align and orient microtubules, thereby establishing the direction of particle transport. We propose a new model in which active particle transport and cortical rotation cooperate to generate a robust movement of dorsal determinants towards the future dorsal side of the embryo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Box 357350, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7350, USA.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kimelman
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D019521:Body Patterning; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000072261:Dishevelled Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016547:Kinesins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020897:Organizers, Embryonic; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology*; D051176:beta Catenin
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C495266:CTNNB1 protein, Xenopus; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D000072261:Dishevelled Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; C112892:PIAS1 protein, Xenopus; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin; D016547:Kinesins