The acquisition of neural fate in the chick.
Neural development in the chick embryo is now understood in great detail on a cellular and a molecular level. It begins already before gastrulation, when a separation of neural and epidermal cell fates occurs under the control of FGF and BMP/Wnt signalling, respectively. This early specification becomes further refined around the tip of the primitive streak, until finally the anterior-posterior level of the neuroectoderm becomes established through progressive caudalization. In this review we focus on processes in the chick embryo and put classical and more recent molecular data into a coherent scenario.
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. wittler@molgen.mpg.de
Lars
L
Wittler
Michael
M
Kessel
D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000637:transplantation; D004627:Embryonic Induction / Q000502:physiology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology