Neuroblast migration along the anteroposterior axis of C. elegans is controlled by opposing gradients of Wnts and a secreted Frizzled-related protein
Author(s)
Harterink, Martin
Middelkoop, Teije C.
Doan, Thang Dinh
van Oudenaarden, Alexander
Korswagen, Hendrik C.
Kim, Don H., 1972-
Date Issued
June 2011
Journal
Development
Publisher
Company of Biologists
Citation
Haterink, Martin et al. "Neuroblast migration along the anteroposterior axis of C. elegans is controlled by opposing gradients of Wnts and a secreted Frizzled-related protein." Development 138, 14 (June 2011): 2915-2924. © Company of Biologists
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The migration of neuroblasts along the anteroposterior body axis of C. elegans is controlled by multiple Wnts that act partially redundantly to guide cells to their precisely defined final destinations. How positional information is specified by this system is, however, still largely unknown. Here, we used a novel fluorescent in situ hybridization methods to generate a quantitative spatiotemporal expression map of the C. elegans Wnt genes. We found that the five Wnt genes are expressed in a series of partially overlapping domains along the anteroposterior axis, with a predominant expression in the posterior half of the body. Furthermore, we show that a secreted Frizzled-related protein is expressed at the anterior end of the body axis, where it inhibits Wnt signaling to control neuroblast migration. Our findings reveal that a system of regionalized Wnt gene expression and anterior Wnt inhibition guides the highly stereotypic migration of neuroblasts in C. elegans. Opposing expression of Wnts and Wnt inhibitors has been observed in basal metazoans and in the vertebrate neurectoderm. Our results in C. elegans support the notion that a system of posterior Wnt signaling and anterior Wnt inhibition is an evolutionarily conserved principle of primary body axis specification.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.064733
