title: Noise-resistant and synchronized oscillation of the segmentation clock.
abstract: Periodic somite segmentation in vertebrate embryos is controlled by the 'segmentation clock', which consists of numerous cellular oscillators. Although the properties of a single oscillator, driven by a hairy negative-feedback loop, have been investigated, the system-level properties of the segmentation clock remain largely unknown. To explore these characteristics, we have examined the response of a normally oscillating clock in zebrafish to experimental stimuli using in vivo mosaic experiments and mathematical simulation. We demonstrate that the segmentation clock behaves as a coupled oscillator, by showing that Notch-dependent intercellular communication, the activity of which is regulated by the internal hairy oscillator, couples neighbouring cells to facilitate synchronized oscillation. Furthermore, the oscillation phase of individual oscillators fluctuates due to developmental noise such as stochastic gene expression and active cell proliferation. The intercellular coupling was found to have a crucial role in minimizing the effects of this noise to maintain coherent oscillation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. kazu@biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horikawa
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishimatsu
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008938:Mitosis; D008954:Models, Biological; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019170:Somites / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C064045:delta protein; C491619:her1 protein, zebrafish