title: Temporal and spatial dynamics of scaling-specific features of a gene regulatory network in Drosophila.
abstract: A widely appreciated aspect of developmental robustness is pattern formation in proportion to size. But how such scaling features emerge dynamically remains poorly understood. Here we generate a data set of the expression profiles of six gap genes in Drosophila melanogaster embryos that differ significantly in size. Expression patterns exhibit size-dependent dynamics both spatially and temporally. We uncover a dynamic emergence of under-scaling in the posterior, accompanied by reduced expression levels of gap genes near the middle of large embryos. Simulation results show that a size-dependent Bicoid gradient input can lead to reduced Krüppel expression that can have long-range and dynamic effects on gap gene expression in the posterior. Thus, for emergence of scaled patterns, the entire embryo may be viewed as a single unified dynamic system where maternally derived size-dependent information interpreted locally can be propagated in space and time as governed by the dynamics of a gene regulatory network.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.|State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road 15, Beijing 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
authors.forename: Honggang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202, USA.
authors.lastname: Manu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road 15, Beijing 100101, China.|Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfengxi Road, Guangzhou 510182, China.
authors.forename: Renjie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.|Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C497244:Kr protein, Drosophila; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C074090:TLL protein, Drosophila; D014157:Transcription Factors; C118475:gt protein, Drosophila; C061245:hb protein, Drosophila; C074089:kni protein, Drosophila; C093053:oc protein, Drosophila