Dynamic control of positional information in the early Drosophila embryo

Johannes Jaeger, Svetlana Surkova, Maxim Blagov, Hilde Janssens, David Kosman, Konstantin N. Kozlov, Manu, Ekaterina Myasnikova, Carlos E. Vanario-Alonso, Maria Samsonova, David H. Sharp and John Reinitz ()
Additional contact information
Johannes Jaeger: Stony Brook University
Svetlana Surkova: St Petersburg State Polytechnic University
Maxim Blagov: St Petersburg State Polytechnic University
Hilde Janssens: Stony Brook University
David Kosman: University of California
Konstantin N. Kozlov: St Petersburg State Polytechnic University
Manu: Stony Brook University
Ekaterina Myasnikova: St Petersburg State Polytechnic University
Carlos E. Vanario-Alonso: Stony Brook University
Maria Samsonova: St Petersburg State Polytechnic University
David H. Sharp: Los Alamos National Laboratory
John Reinitz: Stony Brook University

Nature, 2004, vol. 430, issue 6997, 368-371

Abstract: Abstract Morphogen gradients contribute to pattern formation by determining positional information in morphogenetic fields1,2. Interpretation of positional information is thought to rely on direct, concentration-threshold-dependent mechanisms for establishing multiple differential domains of target gene expression1,3,4. In Drosophila, maternal gradients establish the initial position of boundaries for zygotic gap gene expression, which in turn convey positional information to pair-rule and segment-polarity genes, the latter forming a segmental pre-pattern by the onset of gastrulation5,6,7. Here we report, on the basis of quantitative gene expression data, substantial anterior shifts in the position of gap domains after their initial establishment. Using a data-driven mathematical modelling approach8,9,10,11, we show that these shifts are based on a regulatory mechanism that relies on asymmetric gap–gap cross-repression and does not require the diffusion of gap proteins. Our analysis implies that the threshold-dependent interpretation of maternal morphogen concentration is not sufficient to determine shifting gap domain boundary positions, and suggests that establishing and interpreting positional information are not independent processes in the Drosophila blastoderm.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1038/nature02678

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