Abstract
SummarySecreted signals, known as morphogens, provide the positional information that organizes gene expression and cellular differentiation in many developing tissues. In the vertebrate neural tube, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) acts as a morphogen to control the pattern of neuronal subtype specification. Using an in vivo reporter of Shh signaling, mouse genetics, and systems modeling, we show that a spatially and temporally changing gradient of Shh signaling is interpreted by the regulatory logic of a downstream transcriptional network. The design of the network, which links three transcription factors to Shh signaling, is responsible for differential spatial and temporal gene expression. In addition, the network renders cells insensitive to fluctuations in signaling and confers hysteresis—memory of the signal. Our findings reveal that morphogen interpretation is an emergent property of the architecture of a transcriptional network that provides robustness and reliability to tissue patterning.
Highlights
How cell diversity and pattern are generated during tissue development is a long-standing question
It appears to render cells insensitive to transient increases in Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling and produces hysteresis, providing cells with a memory of the signal. These data indicate that the morphogen response of neural cells to Shh is an emergent property of a transcriptional circuit and suggest general principles that are likely to be relevant for morphogen interpretation in many developing tissues
We use an in vivo reporter of Gli activity to determine the dynamics of Shh signaling in the neural tube, and we provide in silico and in vivo evidence that the regulatory logic of Pax6, Olig2, and Nkx2.2 transcriptional circuit is responsible for interpretation of the Shh signaling gradient
Summary
Known as morphogens, provide the positional information that organizes gene expression and cellular differentiation in many developing tissues. In the vertebrate neural tube, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) acts as a morphogen to control the pattern of neuronal subtype specification. Using an in vivo reporter of Shh signaling, mouse genetics, and systems modeling, we show that a spatially and temporally changing gradient of Shh signaling is interpreted by the regulatory logic of a downstream transcriptional network. The design of the network, which links three transcription factors to Shh signaling, is responsible for differential spatial and temporal gene expression. The network renders cells insensitive to fluctuations in signaling and confers hysteresis—memory of the signal. Our findings reveal that morphogen interpretation is an emergent property of the architecture of a transcriptional network that provides robustness and reliability to tissue patterning
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