Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)/bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling is
involved in a vast majority of cellular processes and is fundamentally important throughout …

BACKGROUND Classic embryological studies showed that diffusible factors (morphogens)
influence cell fate during dorsal-ventral (DV) axis patterning. Subsequently, mathematical …

The regulation of body axis specification in the common ancestor of bilaterians remains
controversial. BMP signaling appears to be an ancient program for patterning the secondary …

TGF-β family ligands function in inducing and patterning many tissues of the early vertebrate
embryonic body plan. Nodal signaling is essential for the specification of mesendodermal …

Our understanding of vertebrate origins is powerfully informed by comparative morphology,
embryology and genomics of chordates, hemichordates and echinoderms, which together …

Bilaterality–the possession of two orthogonal body axes–is the name-giving trait of all
bilaterian animals. These body axes are established during early embryogenesis and serve …

A morphogen gradient of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling patterns the
dorsoventral embryonic axis of vertebrates and invertebrates. The prevailing view in …

Echinoderms, which are phylogenetically related to vertebrates and produce large numbers
of transparent embryos that can be experimentally manipulated, offer many advantages for …

Understanding the functional relationship between intracellular factors and extracellular
signals is required for reconstructing gene regulatory networks (GRN) involved in complex …

Cell fate specification occurs along invariant species-specific trajectories that define the
animal body plan. This process is controlled by gene regulatory networks that regulate the …