Mazzitello K I, Arizmendi C M, Hentschel H G E
CONICET-Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2008 Aug;78(2 Pt 1):021906. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.78.021906. Epub 2008 Aug 14.
The segmentation of vertebrate embryos, a process known as somitogenesis, depends on a complex genetic network that generates highly dynamic gene expression in an oscillatory manner. A recent proposal for the mechanism underlying these oscillations involves negative-feedback regulation at transcriptional translational levels, also known as the "delay model" [J. Lewis Curr. Biol. 13, 1398 (2003)]. In addition, in the zebrafish a longitudinal positional information signal in the form of an Fgf8 gradient constitutes a determination front that could be used to transform these coupled intracellular temporal oscillations into the observed spatial periodicity of somites. Here we consider an extension of the delay model by taking into account the interaction of the oscillation clock with the determination front. Comparison is made with the known properties of somite formation in the zebrafish embryo. We also show that the model can mimic the anomalies formed when progression of the determination wave front is perturbed and make an experimental prediction that can be used to test the model.
脊椎动物胚胎的分段过程，即所谓的体节发生，依赖于一个复杂的基因网络，该网络以振荡方式产生高度动态的基因表达。最近关于这些振荡背后机制的一项提议涉及转录和翻译水平的负反馈调节，也称为“延迟模型”[J. Lewis，《当代生物学》13, 1398 (2003)]。此外，在斑马鱼中，以Fgf8梯度形式存在的纵向位置信息信号构成了一个决定前沿，可用于将这些耦合的细胞内时间振荡转化为观察到的体节空间周期性。在这里，我们通过考虑振荡时钟与决定前沿的相互作用来扩展延迟模型。并与斑马鱼胚胎中体节形成的已知特性进行比较。我们还表明，该模型可以模拟当决定波前沿的进展受到干扰时形成的异常情况，并做出可用于测试该模型的实验预测。
