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In Xenopus embryos, the dorso-ventral and antero-posterior axes are established by the Spemann-Mangold organizer. According to the prevalent model of early development, the organizer is induced by the dorsalizing Nieuwkoop signal, which is secreted by the Nieuwkoop center. Formation of the center requires the maternal Wnt pathway, which is active on the dorsal side of embryos. Nevertheless, the molecular nature of the Nieuwkoop signal remains unclear. Since the Nieuwkoop center and the organizer both produce dorsalizing signals in vitro, we asked if they might share molecular components. We find that vegetal explants, the source of Nieuwkoop signal in recombination assays, express a number of organizer genes. The product of one of these genes, chordin, is required for signaling, suggesting that the organizer and the center share at least some molecular components. Furthermore, experiments with whole embryos show that maternal Wnt activity is required in the organizer just as it is needed in the Nieuwkoop center in vitro. We conclude that the maternal Wnt pathway generates the Nieuwkoop center in vitro and the organizer in vivo by activating a common set of genes, without the need of an intermediary signaling step.
Fig. 1. Organizer genes are expressed in vegetal pole explants. (A) Double in situ hybridization for chordin (BCIP, blue) and cerberus (BM Purple) in a sectioned stage 10 embryo. The two genes show overlap in endodermal-fated vegetal cells. (BâH) Stage 8.5 embryos were dissected and vegetal pole explants were cultured for 2 h before in situ hybridization for chordin (B, n = 12), cerberus (C, n = 9), gsc (D, n = 12), frzb (E, n = 15), noggin (F, n = 12), and Xbra (H, n = 14). All views are animal, dorsal side is to the right. (G1, 2) Vegetal explants were sectioned sagittally (n = 18), and each half was hybridized in situ for chordin (G1) or Xsox17β (G2). Internal views of the sections, dorsal side up, animal sides facing each other. (G1 + 2) The two halves juxtaposed and viewed from the animal side. (IâK) Timing and FGF-dependency of chordin expression in vegetal explants. (I) Stage 9 explant, immediately after dissection (n = 12). (J, K) Explants after 2 h incubation, in the absence (J, n = 15) or presence (K, n = 11) of the MEK inhibitor U0126, which blocks the FGF pathway.
Fig. 5. Ectopic activation of the Wnt pathway in tier B and C cells induces expression of organizer genes only in injected cells. Double in situ hybridization of stage 9 embryos for the indicated organizer genes (purple) and coinjected LacZ (red). β-catenin (500 pg RNA) and LacZ (1 ng RNA) were injected at the 32 cell stage in the indicated tiers, on the ventral side of the embryo. Panels A, F, and K are dorsal views showing the wild-type expression pattern for Sia, gsc, and chordin, respectively. Activation of the genes in ventral cells is restricted to the injection site. chordin (21 embryos for tier B, 30 embryos for tier C) and Sia (24 embryos for tier B and 19 embryos for tier C) are activated in both tiers B and C (M, O, and C, E, respectively), but gsc (28 embryos for tier B and 22 for tier C) only in tier C (H, J).
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