An anterior limit of FGF/Erk signal activity marks the earliest future somite boundary in zebrafish

Vertebrate segments called somites are generated by periodic segmentation of the anterior extremity of the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). During somite segmentation in zebrafish, mesp-b determines a future somite boundary at position B-2 within the PSM. Heat-shock experiments, however, suggest that an e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Development (Cambridge) Vol. 141; no. 5; pp. 1104 - 1109
Main Authors:	Akiyama, Ryutaro, Masuda, Miwa, Tsuge, Shoichiro, Bessho, Yasumasa, Matsui, Takaaki
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England 01-03-2014
Subjects:	Animals Body Patterning - genetics Body Patterning - physiology Fibroblast Growth Factors - genetics Fibroblast Growth Factors - metabolism Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - genetics Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - physiology Signal Transduction - genetics Signal Transduction - physiology Somites - cytology Somites - metabolism Zebrafish Zebrafish Proteins - genetics Zebrafish Proteins - metabolism Somitogenesis Segmentation Clock FGF signalling
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Summary:	Vertebrate segments called somites are generated by periodic segmentation of the anterior extremity of the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). During somite segmentation in zebrafish, mesp-b determines a future somite boundary at position B-2 within the PSM. Heat-shock experiments, however, suggest that an earlier future somite boundary exists at B-5, but the molecular signature of this boundary remains unidentified. Here, we characterized fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signal activity within the PSM, and demonstrated that an anterior limit of downstream Erk activity corresponds to the future B-5 somite boundary. Moreover, the segmentation clock is required for a stepwise posterior shift of the Erk activity boundary during each segmentation. Our results provide the first molecular evidence of the future somite boundary at B-5, and we propose that clock-dependent cyclic inhibition of the FGF/Erk signal is a key mechanism in the generation of perfect repetitive structures in zebrafish development.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0950-1991 1477-9129
DOI:	10.1242/dev.098905