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Study sheds light on genetic 'clock' in embryonic cells
Date:11/13/2012

As they develop, vertebrate embryos form vertebrae in a sequential, time-controlled way. Scientists have determined previously that this process of body segmentation is controlled by a kind of "clock," regulated by the oscillating activity of certain genes within embryonic cells. But questions remain about how precisely this timing system works.

A new international cross-disciplinary collaboration between physicists and molecular genetics researchers advances scientists' understanding of this crucial biological timing system. The study, co-authored by McGill University Prof. Paul Franois and Ohio State University Prof. Sharon L. Amacher and published in Developmental Cell, sheds light on the clock mechanism by providing the first real-time, visual evidence of how it operates at the level of individual cells.

While previous scientific studies have examined the oscillation phenomenon in the tissue of mouse embryos, the McGill and Ohio State researchers were able to observe and analyze it in single cells. To do so, they genetically modified zebrafish a freshwater fish whose body is nearly transparent during early development, making its anatomy easy to observe. The researchers used a fluorescent marker in the transgenic fish and developed software tools to monitor the concentration of a certain "cyclic" protein, whose production rises and falls with the oscillating expression of the molecular clock genes.

It is known that cells communicate with neighboring cells through a messaging system known as the Notch signaling pathway. In their experiments with the zebrafish, the researchers cut off this inter-cellular communication network enabling them to see how that would affect the oscillation pattern in individual cells and their neighbors.

These experiments revealed that cyclic protein concentrations in individual cells of the zebrafish continued to rise and fall, indicating that they continued to oscillate. With the
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Contact: Chris Chipello
christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca
514-398-4201
McGill University
Source:Eurekalert

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