Letter abstract
Nature Cell Biology 10, 186 - 193 (2008)
Published online: 23 December 2007 | doi:10.1038/ncb1679
A 
-catenin gradient links the clock and wavefront systems in mouse embryo segmentation
Alexander Aulehla1, Winfried Wiegraebe1, Valerie Baubet2, Matthias B. Wahl1, Chuxia Deng3, Makoto Taketo4, Mark Lewandoski5 & Olivier Pourquié1,6
Rhythmic production of vertebral precursors, the somites, causes bilateral columns of embryonic segments to form. This process involves a molecular oscillator — the segmentation clock — whose signal is translated into a spatial, periodic pattern by a complex signalling gradient system within the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). In mouse embryos, Wnt signalling has been implicated in both the clock and gradient mechanisms, but how the Wnt pathway can perform these two functions simultaneously remains unclear. Here, we use a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-based, real-time imaging system in mouse embryos to demonstrate that clock oscillations are independent of 
-catenin protein levels. In contrast, we show that the Wnt-signalling gradient is established through a nuclear -catenin protein gradient in the posterior PSM. This gradient of nuclear -catenin defines the size of the oscillatory field and controls key aspects of PSM maturation and segment formation, emphasizing the central role of Wnt signalling in this process.
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110 USA.
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA.
- Genetics of Development and Diseases Branch, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA.
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
- Laboratory of Cancer and Developmental Biology, NCI-Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702 USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kansas City, MO 64110 USA.
Correspondence to: Olivier Pourquié1,6 e-mail: olp@stowers-institute.org
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