A Twist-like bHLH gene is a downstream factor of an endogenous FGF and determines mesenchymal fate in the ascidian embryos

Imai, Kaoru S.; Satoh, Nori; Satou, Yutaka

doi:10.1242/dev.00652

Cited by 63 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The scope of FGF pathway members has been investigated in lower chordates that diversified before vertebrate genome duplications, and this has provided a clearer picture of FGF family evolution within the deuterostomes. In the urochordate ascidians Ciona intestinalis and Ciona savigny (whose genomes have been sequenced) there are six FGF ligands and one FGF receptor (Imai et al , 2003.…”

Section: Fgf Signaling Complexity In the Metazoamentioning

confidence: 99%

FGF signaling in gastrulation and neural development in Nematostella vectensis, an anthozoan cnidarian

2007

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The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signal transduction pathway serves as one of the key regulators of early metazoan development, displaying conserved roles in the specification of endodermal, mesodermal, and neural fates during vertebrate development. FGF signals also regulate gastrulation, in part, by triggering epithelial to mesenchymal transitions in embryos of both vertebrates and invertebrates. Thus, FGF signals coordinate gastrulation movements across many different phyla. To help understand the breadth of FGF signaling deployment across the animal kingdom, we have examined the presence and expression of genes encoding FGF pathway components in the anthozoan cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. We isolated three FGF ligands (NvFGF8A, NvFGF8B, and NvFGF1A), two FGF receptors (NvFGFRa and NvFGFRb), and two orthologs of vertebrate FGF responsive genes, Sprouty (NvSprouty), an inhibitor of FGF signaling, and Churchill (NvChurchill), a Zn finger transcription factor. We found these FGF ligands, receptors, and response gene expressed asymmetrically along the oral/aboral axis during gastrulation and in a developing chemosensory structure of planula stages known as the apical tuft. These results suggest a conserved role for FGF signaling molecules in coordinating both gastrulation and neural induction that predates the Cambrian explosion and the origins of the Bilateria.

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Section: Fgf Signaling Complexity In the Metazoamentioning

confidence: 99%

FGF signaling in gastrulation and neural development in Nematostella vectensis, an anthozoan cnidarian

2007

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“…Two bHLH transcription factor genes, Twist-like1 and Twist-like2, have been shown to be involved in mesenchyme formation in C. savignyi (Imai et al, 2003). Cs-Twist-like1 is upstream of Cs-Twist-like2, as well as of the homeobox gene Cs-Hex, the gene Cs-Mist, encoding a bHLH transcription factor, and the mesenchymespecific gene Cs-Mech.…”

Section: Mesenchymementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cs-Twist-like1 is upstream of Cs-Twist-like2, as well as of the homeobox gene Cs-Hex, the gene Cs-Mist, encoding a bHLH transcription factor, and the mesenchymespecific gene Cs-Mech. Overexpression and morpholino knockdown experiments have demonstrated that CsTwist-like1 is necessary and sufficient for mesenchyme differentiation (Imai et al, 2003).…”

Section: Mesenchymementioning

confidence: 99%

Ciona intestinalis: Chordate development made simple

2005

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Thanks to their transparent and rapidly developing mosaic embryos, ascidians (or sea squirts) have been a model system for embryological studies for over a century. Recently, ascidians have entered the postgenomic era, with the sequencing of the Ciona intestinalis genome and the accumulation of molecular resources that rival those available for fruit flies and mice. One strength of ascidians as a model system is their close similarity to vertebrates. Literature reporting molecular homologies between vertebrate and ascidian tissues has flourished over the past 15 years, since the first ascidian genes were cloned. However, it should not be forgotten that ascidians diverged from the lineage leading to vertebrates over 500 million years ago. Here, we review the main similarities and differences so far identified, at the molecular level, between ascidian and vertebrate tissues and discuss the evolution of the compact ascidian genome.

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“…servation with the vertebrate Hand genes, whereas Ci-Hndx is quite divergent (16). Nonetheless, Ci-Hndx is expressed in the TVCs at the tailbud stage [along with transient expression in the trunk lateral cells and endoderm at earlier stages, (19), referred to as Ci-NoTrlc]. Given the overlapping expression of Ci-NPP and Ci-Hndx in the TVCs and endoderm, bioinformatics methods were used to identify shared sequence motifs within their 5Ј flanking regions.…”

Section: G H and M)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary origins of the vertebrate heart: Specification of the cardiac lineage in Ciona intestinalis

Davidson

Levine

2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

121

115

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Here we exploit the extensive cell lineage information and streamlined genome of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, to investigate heart development in a basal chordate. Several cardiac genes were analyzed, including the sole Ciona ortholog of the Drosophila tinman gene, and tissue-specific enhancers were isolated for some of the genes. Conserved sequence motifs within these enhancers facilitated the isolation of a heart enhancer for the Ciona Hand-like gene. Altogether, these studies provide a regulatory framework for the differentiation of the cardiac mesoderm, beginning at the 110-cell stage, and extending through the fusion of cardiac progenitors during tail elongation. The cardiac lineage shares a common origin with the germ line, and zygotic transcription is first detected in the heart progenitors only after its separation from the germ line at the 64-cell stage. We propose that germ-line determinants influence the specification of the cardiac mesoderm, both by inhibiting inductive signals required for the development of noncardiac mesoderm lineages, and by providing a localized source of Wnt-5 and other signals required for heart development. We discuss the possibility that the germ line also influences the specification of the vertebrate heart.

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A Twist-like bHLH gene is a downstream factor of an endogenous FGF and determines mesenchymal fate in the ascidian embryos

Cited by 63 publications

References 31 publications

FGF signaling in gastrulation and neural development in Nematostella vectensis, an anthozoan cnidarian

FGF signaling in gastrulation and neural development in Nematostella vectensis, an anthozoan cnidarian

Ciona intestinalis: Chordate development made simple

Evolutionary origins of the vertebrate heart: Specification of the cardiac lineage in Ciona intestinalis

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