GASTRULATION GENES · Function-based expression screen for genes involved in gastrulation of the basal metazoan Nematostella vectensis
6РП — Действия „Мария Кюри“
- Период
- 2006-11-01 → 2008-10-31
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 173 408 €
- Участници
- 1
- Схема
- IIF
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите. За проекти отпреди 2014 г. CORDIS не винаги дава точни координати. Тези точки са на ниво град или държава.
Накратко на български
Генът mef2 при морската анемона Nematostella vectensis се анализира, за да се разбере ролята му при развитието на нервната система и вътрешния слой клетки. Това помага да се проследи еволюционният произход на развитието на зародишите и образуването на тъканите при животните.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Final Activity Report Summary - GASTRULATION GENES (Function-based expression screen for genes involved in gastrulation of the basal metazoan Nematostella vectensis)
Gastrulation is one of the key developmental processes in eumetazoans. It is the time when germ layers are formed and definitive axes of the embryo are specified. In the triploblastic Bilateria, to which the great majority of animal phyla belong, three germ layers, ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm, are formed. However, the diploblastic Cnidaria, one of the most ancient offshoots in animal evolution, also form ectoderm and endoderm during gastrulation. Hence, Cnidaria offer the opportunity to address the question of the evolutionary origin of the gastrulation processes and of the mesoderm, both on the level of morphogenetic movements as well as specification and further differentiation of germ layers. As a new model organism for the study of embryogenesis among the Cnidaria, the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis has recently been established (Hand and Uhlinger, 1992; Fritzenwanker and Technau, 2003) and its genome has been sequenced (Putnam et al., 2007). The goal of this project is to search for factors that are functionally involved in Nematostella gastrulation and endoderm differentiation. In this project we have focused on the role of the homologue of one of the key regulators of the mesoderm and nerve differentiation in triploblasts - the MADS box transcription factor mef2. We could show that like in higher animals Nvmef2 is giving rise to several alternative splice variants, which are differentially expressed in time and space. By performing a functional knockdown by means of the antisense morpholino oligonucleotides we could demonstrate that Nvmef2 is required for proper neuronal development and for the endoderm differentiation after gastrulation. While the process of gastrulation itself was not affected, there were severe defects in the maintenance and differentiation of the endodermal layer. With the use of the antisense morpholino oligonucleotides directed against particular exons in the endodermally expressed splice variants we were able to determine the part of the protein, which is critically important for the proper development of the endoderm in Nematostella.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
The questions of how genetic programs regulate the formation of a complex multi-cellular body and how these genetic programs evolved are key topics of the modern developmental biology. Cnidarians are of especial interest for the Evolution and Development field, as they occupy a unique evolutionary position of a sister group to all bilaterian Eumetazoa. There are two main features, which make Cnidaria distinct from all the other multi-cellular animals: the lack of typical bilateral symmetry and the lack of mesoderm, the third germ layer.The information on what molecular mechanisms are critical for the rise of these features in Bilateria still remains scarce. The very conserved developmental process, during which the germ layers arise, is called gastrulation. The best cnidarian model for studying gene activity during embryogenesis is the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. It was shown previously that conserved transcription factors such as brachyury, forkhead, snail, twist and others are expressed in spatially restricted domains during gastrulation (Scholz and Technau, 2003; Martindale et al., 2004; et al., 2004). Expression domains suggest conservation of the function of these genes in the course of evolution. However, to my knowledge, no unbiased functional screen has been carried out in a cnidarian. I, therefore, propose a project focused on the unbiased search for genes, which are functionally involved in the process of gastrulation in N. vectensis, with the use of expression cloning strategy.In the screen proposed, pools of mRNAs will be injected into the early embryos of N. vectensis. Sib selection procedure on active pools will allow finding individual genes functionally involved in the process of gastrulation. The project will shed light on the genetic basis of gastrulation in an evolutionary old metazoan and bring us closer to understanding the genetic features of the common ancestor of all multi-cellular animals.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- UNIVERSITäT WIEN · VIENNAКоординаторНиво градАвстрия
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз