DIRECT AND CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT BY CELLS OF THEIR POSITION IN A MORPHOGEN GRADIENT

被引：134

作者：

GURDON, JB ^{[1
]}

MITCHELL, A ^{[1
]}

MAHONY, D ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] UNIV CAMBRIDGE,DEPT ZOOL,CAMBRIDGE,ENGLAND

来源：

NATURE | 1995年 / 376卷 / 6540期

基金：

英国惠康基金;

关键词：

D O I：

10.1038/376520a0

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

ACCORDING to the morphogen gradient concept(1-5), cells in one part of an embryo secrete diffusible molecules (morphogens) that spread to other nearby cells and activate genes at different threshold concentrations, Strong support for the operation of a morphogen gradient mechanism in vertebrate development has come from the biochemical experiments of Green and Smith(6,7), who induced different kinds of gene expression in amphibian blastula cells exposed to small changes in activin concentration, But the interpretation of these experiments has been complicated by recent reports that cells tested for gene expression 3 hours after exposure to activin fail to show the graded response previously reported at 15 hours(6,7), a result suggesting that cells recognize their position in a gradient by an indirect mechanism, Here we conclude from the in situ analysis of blastula tissue containing activin-loaded beads(11) that cells respond directly to changing morphogen concentrations, in a way that resembles a ratchet-like process.

引用

页码：520 / 521

页数：2

共 22 条

[1] MORPHOGENS IN CHICK LIMB DEVELOPMENT [J].