MCCLAY , David

The sea urchin embryo is emerging as an attractive model to study morphogenetic processes such as directed migration of mesenchyme cells and cell sheet invagination, but surprisingly, few of the genes regulating these processes have yet been characterized. We present evidence that FGFA, the first FGF family member characterized in the sea...

In the sea urchin, entry of β-catenin into the nuclei of the vegetal cells at 4th and 5th cleavages is necessary for activation of the endomesoderm gene regulatory network. Beyond that, little is known about how the embryo uses maternal information to initiate specification. Here, experiments establish that of the three maternal Wnts in the...