Wilt F H
University of california, Berkeley 94720-3200, USA.
Bioessays. 1997 Aug;19(8):665-8. doi: 10.1002/bies.950190805.
The transparent sea urchin embryo provides a laboratory for study of morphogenesis. The calcareous endoskeleton is formed by a syncytium of mesenchyme cells in the blastocoel. The locations of mesenchyme in the blastocoel, the size of the skeleton, and even the branching pattern of the skeletal rods, are governed by interactions with the blastula wall. Now Guss and Ettensohn show that the rate of deposition of CaCO3 in the skeleton is locally controlled in the mesenchymal syncytium, as is the pattern of expression of three genes involved in skeleton formation. They propose that short range signals emanating from the blastula wall regulate many aspects of the biomineralization process.
透明海胆胚胎为形态发生的研究提供了一个实验平台。钙质内骨骼由囊胚腔中中胚层细胞的合胞体形成。中胚层在囊胚腔中的位置、骨骼的大小，甚至骨骼杆的分支模式，都受与囊胚壁相互作用的控制。现在，古斯和埃滕松表明，骨骼中碳酸钙的沉积速率在中胚层合胞体中是局部受控的，参与骨骼形成的三个基因的表达模式也是如此。他们提出，来自囊胚壁的短程信号调节生物矿化过程的许多方面。
