Uncoupling neurogenic gene networks in the embryo.

The EGF signaling pathway specifies neuronal identities in the embryo by regulating developmental patterning genes such as (). EGFR is activated in the ventral midline and neurogenic ectoderm by the Spitz ligand, which is processed by the Rhomboid protease. CRISPR/Cas9 was used to delete defined enhancers mediating expression at each site of Spitz processing. Surprisingly, the neurogenic ectoderm, not the ventral midline, was found to be the dominant source of EGF patterning activity. We suggest that is undergoing an evolutionary transition in central nervous system (CNS)-organizing activity from the ventral midline to the neurogenic ectoderm.