One hundred years of positional information.
Abstract
One mechanism by which spatial patterns of cell differentiation could be specified during embryonic development and regeneration is based on positional information. Cells acquire a positional value with respect to boundaries and then interpret this in terms of a programme determined by their genetic constitution and developmental history. The signals and the molecular basis of such a system have both been rather well conserved. Recent work has shown that cells can respond to quite small differences in the concentrations of molecules whose concentration could provide positional information.
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The zone of intersecting Wnt and TGF-β expression may be providing positional information in a manner similar to that observed during the formation of limbs in Drosophila and the head organizer in cnidarians.
“and may be providing positional information [47] in manner similar to that observed during the formation of limbs in Drosophila [34] and the head organizer in cnidarians [48].”
From Wnt and TGF-β Expression in the Sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and the Origin of Metazoan Embryonic Patterning (2007) · cites this paper as [47]
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- Authors
- Wolpert, L.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wolpert, Lewis
- Venue
- Trends in Genetics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1996-09
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 359-364
- ISSN
- 0168-9525 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2060034125
- Cited by
- 265
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 0.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trends in Genetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene Regulatory Network Analysis
- Keywords
- positional information, cell differentiation, embryonic development, regeneration, morphogen gradients, concentration gradient, cell fate specification, developmental history, signal transduction
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cell Differentiation, Drosophila, Forecasting, Models, Biological, Regeneration, Xenopus, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Mice
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