dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaEmbryonic Pattern Scaling Achieved by Oppositely Directed Morphogen Gradients
| Authors | Peter McHale, Wouter-Jan Rappel, Herbert Levine |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0601022 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0601022 |
| DOI | 10.1088/1478-3975/3/2/003 |
Abstract
Morphogens are proteins, often produced in a localised region, whose concentrations spatially demarcate regions of differing gene expression in developing embryos. The boundaries of expression must be set accurately and in proportion to the size of the one-dimensional developing field; this cannot be accomplished by a single gradient. Here, we show how a pair of morphogens produced at opposite ends of a developing field can solve the pattern-scaling problem. In the most promising scenario, the morphogens effectively interact according to the annihilation reaction $A+B\to\emptyset$ and the switch occurs according to the absolute concentration of $A$ or $B$. In this case embryonic markers across the entire developing field scale approximately with system size; this cannot be achieved with a pair of non-interacting gradients that combinatorially regulate downstream genes. This scaling occurs in a window of developing-field sizes centred at a few times the morphogen decay length.
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"abstract": "Morphogens are proteins, often produced in a localised region, whose\nconcentrations spatially demarcate regions of differing gene expression in\ndeveloping embryos. The boundaries of expression must be set accurately and in\nproportion to the size of the one-dimensional developing field; this cannot be\naccomplished by a single gradient. Here, we show how a pair of morphogens\nproduced at opposite ends of a developing field can solve the pattern-scaling\nproblem. In the most promising scenario, the morphogens effectively interact\naccording to the annihilation reaction $A+B\\to\\emptyset$ and the switch occurs\naccording to the absolute concentration of $A$ or $B$. In this case embryonic\nmarkers across the entire developing field scale approximately with system\nsize; this cannot be achieved with a pair of non-interacting gradients that\ncombinatorially regulate downstream genes. This scaling occurs in a window of\ndeveloping-field sizes centred at a few times the morphogen decay length.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0601022",
"authors": [
"Peter McHale",
"Wouter-Jan Rappel",
"Herbert Levine"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.SC"
],
"doi": "10.1088/1478-3975/3/2/003",
"title": "Embryonic Pattern Scaling Achieved by Oppositely Directed Morphogen Gradients",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0601022"
},
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