title: Travelling gradients in interacting morphogen systems.
abstract: Morphogen gradients are well known to play several important roles in development; however the mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of these gradients are often not well understood. In this work, we investigate whether the presence of a secondary morphogen can increase the robustness of the primary morphogen gradient to perturbation, thereby providing a more stable mechanism for development. We base our model around the interactions of Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 and retinoic acid, which have been shown to act as morphogens in many developmental systems. In particular, we investigate the formation of opposing gradients of these morphogens along the antero-posterior axis of vertebrate embryos, thereby controlling temporal and spatial aspects of axis segmentation and neuronal differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, 24-29 St. Giles', Oxford OX1 3LB, UK. ruth.baker@maths.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Maini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8; D014212:Tretinoin