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Segment-polarity Gene
A segmentation gene is a generic term for a gene whose function is to specify tissue pattern in each repeated unit of a segmented organism. Animals are constructed of segments; however, Drosophila segments also contain subdivided compartments. There are five gene classes which each contribute to the segmentation and development of the embryonic ''drosophila''. These five gene classes include the coordinate gene, gap gene, pair-rule gene, segment polarity gene, and homeotic gene. In embryonic ''drosophila'', the pair-rule gene defines odd-skipped and even-skipped genes as parasegments, showing 7 stripes in the embryo. In the next gene class, segment polarity gene, individual segments each have their own anterior and posterior pole, resulting in 14 segments. In the fruit fly ''Drosophila melanogaster'', segment polarity genes help to define the anterior and posterior polarities within each embryonic parasegment by regulating the transmission of signals via the Wnt signaling pathway and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Segmentation Gene
A segmentation gene is a gene involved in the early developmental stages of pattern formation. It regulates how cells are organized and defines repeated units in the embryo. Segmentation genes have been documented in three taxa: arthropods (i.e. insects and crabs), chordates (i.e. mammals and fish), and annelids (i.e. leeches and earthworms). In ''Drosophila melanogaster'', a common fruit fly, segmentation genes divide the embryo into 14 parasegments which are among the first compartments to form within the embryo. Rare variants in segmentation genes can cause changes in appearance of differing severity depending on its type. The genes can be classified into 3 groups: Gap genes, Pair-rule genes and Segment polarity genes. Gap genes Gap genes are among the first genes expressed in the embryo. Here, expression refers to the translation of the gene. Gap genes were named as such because loss-of-function variants in gap genes resulted in large deletions (or gaps) in the neighbourin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated like a wallpaper design. Any of the senses may directly observe patterns. Conversely, abstract patterns in science, mathematics, or language may be observable only by analysis. Direct observation in practice means seeing visual patterns, which are widespread in nature and in art. Visual patterns in nature are often chaotic, rarely exactly repeating, and often involve fractals. Natural patterns include spirals, meanders, waves, foams, tilings, cracks, and those created by symmetries of rotation and reflection. Patterns have an underlying mathematical structure; indeed, mathematics can be seen as the search for regularities, and the output of any function is a mathematical pattern. Similarly in the sciences, theories explain and pred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Animals form a clade, meaning that they arose from a single common ancestor. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described, of which around 1.05 million are insects, over 85,000 are molluscs, and around 65,000 are vertebrates. It has been estimated there are as many as 7.77 million animal species on Earth. Animal body lengths range from to . They have complex ecologies and interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology, and the study of animal behaviour is known as ethology. The animal kingdom is divided into five major clades, namely Porifera, Ctenophora, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drosophila
''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. They should not be confused with the Tephritidae, a related family, which are also called fruit flies (sometimes referred to as "true fruit flies"); tephritids feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly. One species of ''Drosophila'' in particular, ''Drosophila melanogaster'', has been heavily used in research in genetics and is a common model organism in developmental biology. The terms "fruit fly" and "''Drosophila''" are often used synonymously with ''D. melanogaster'' in modern biological literatur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm cell. The resulting fusion of these two cells produces a single-celled zygote that undergoes many cell divisions that produce cells known as blastomeres. The blastomeres (4-cell stage) are arranged as a solid ball that when reaching a certain size, called a morula, (16-cell stage) takes in fluid to create a cavity called a blastocoel. The structure is then termed a blastula, or a blastocyst in mammals. The mammalian blastocyst hatches before implantating into the endometrial lining of the womb. Once implanted the embryo will continue its development through the next stages of gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis. Gastrulation is the formation of the three germ layers that will form all of the different parts of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wnt Signaling Pathway
In cellular biology, the Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt, pronounced "wint", is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling pathways use either nearby cell-cell communication (paracrine) or same-cell communication (autocrine). They are highly evolutionarily conserved in animals, which means they are similar across animal species from fruit flies to humans. Three Wnt signaling pathways have been characterized: the canonical Wnt pathway, the noncanonical planar cell polarity pathway, and the noncanonical Wnt/calcium pathway. All three pathways are activated by the binding of a Wnt-protein ligand to a Frizzled family receptor, which passes the biological signal to the Dishevelled protein inside the cell. The canonical Wnt pathway leads to regulation of gene transcription, and is thought to be negatively regulated in part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathway also has roles in the adult. Diseases associated with the malfunction of this pathway include cancer. The Hedgehog signaling pathway is one of the key regulators of animal development and is present in all bilaterians. The pathway takes its name from its polypeptide ligand, an intracellular signaling molecule called Hedgehog (''Hh'') found in fruit flies of the genus '' Drosophila''; fruit fly larvae lacking the ''Hh'' gene are said to resemble hedgehogs. ''Hh'' is one of Drosophila's segment polarity gene products, involved in establishing the basis of the fly body plan. The molecule remains important during later stages of embryogenesis and metamorphosis. Mammals have three Hedgehog homologues, Desert (DHH), Indian (IHH), and Son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gap Gene
A gap gene is a type of gene involved in the development of the segmented embryos of some arthropods. Gap genes are defined by the effect of a mutation in that gene, which causes the loss of contiguous body segments, resembling a gap in the normal body plan. Each gap gene, therefore, is necessary for the development of a section of the organism. Gap genes were first described by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus in 1980. They used a genetic screen to identify genes required for embryonic development in the fruit fly ''Drosophila melanogaster''. They found three genes – ''knirps, Krüppel and hunchback'' – where mutations caused deletion of particular stretches of segments. Later work identified more gap genes in the ''Drosophila'' early embryo – ''giant'', ''huckebein'' and ''tailless''. Further gap genes including orthodenticle and buttonhead are required for the development of the ''Drosophila'' head. Once the gap genes had been identified at the molecu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pair-rule Gene
A pair-rule gene is a type of gene involved in the development of the segmented embryos of insects. Pair-rule genes are expressed as a result of differing concentrations of gap gene proteins, which encode transcription factors controlling pair-rule gene expression. Pair-rule genes are defined by the effect of a mutation in that gene, which causes the loss of the normal developmental pattern in alternating segments. Pair-rule genes were first described by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus in 1980. They used a genetic screen to identify genes required for embryonic development in the fruit fly ''Drosophila melanogaster''. In normal unmutated ''Drosophila,'' each segment produces bristles called denticles in a band arranged on the side of the segment closer to the head (the anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engrailed (gene)
''engrailed'' is a homeodomain transcription factor involved in many aspects of multicellular development. First known for its role in arthropod embryological development, working in consort with the Hox genes, ''engrailed'' has been found to be important in other areas of development. It has been identified in many bilaterians, including the arthropods, vertebrates, echinoderms, molluscs, nematodes, brachiopods, and polychaetes. It acts as a "selector" gene, conferring a specific identity to defined areas of the body, and co-ordinating the expression of downstream genes. Protein ''engrailed (en)'' encodes the homeodomain-containing transcription factor protein Engrailed. Homologous Engrailed proteins are found in a diversity of organisms. When expressed in the ectoderm, ''engrailed'' is involved in the production of skeletal material. ''engrailed'', or genes with very similar sequences, are found in all bilaterian animals. ''engrailed'' plays a number of crucial roles in bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gooseberry (gene)
''Gooseberry'' (''gsb'') is a segment polarity gene located on chromosome 2 of the ''Drosophila'' (fruit fly) genome. ''Gooseberry'' is known for its interactions with key embryonic signaling pathways Wingless and Hedgehog. The gene also has clinical significance, being linked to diseases such as Waardenburg Syndrome and rhabdomyosarcoma. Discovery The ''gooseberry'' gene was first described in a 1980 research paper on ''Drosophila'' embryonic development. In the study, ''Drosophila'' larvae were mutated at different genomic locations to identify genes affecting ''Drosophila'' embryonic segmental patterning. 15 candidate genes were found to affect this developmental process, and were subsequently classified into 3 different categories: segment-polarity, pair-rule, and gap. ''Gooseberry'', a member of these 15 genes, was classified as a segment-polarity gene. Gene expression ''Drosophila'' embryos show developmental stage-dependent expression of ''gsb.'' This was determined b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morphogens
A morphogen is a substance whose non-uniform distribution governs the Natural patterns, pattern of tissue development in the process of morphogenesis or pattern formation, one of the core processes of developmental biology, establishing positions of the various specialized cell types within a tissue. More specifically, a morphogen is a signaling molecule that acts directly on cells to produce specific cellular responses depending on its local concentration. Typically, morphogens are produced by source cells and diffuse through surrounding tissues in an embryo during early development, such that concentration gradients are set up. These gradients drive the process of differentiation of unspecialised stem cells into different cell types, ultimately forming all the tissues and organs of the body. The control of morphogenesis is a central element in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). History The term was coined by Alan Turing in the paper "The Chemical Basis of Morpho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
