β-catenin-driven endomesoderm specification is a Bilateria-specific novelty
Abstract Endomesoderm specification by a maternal β-catenin signal and body axis patterning by interpreting a gradient of zygotic Wnt/β-catenin signalling was suggested to predate the split between Bilateria and their sister clade Cnidaria. However, in Cnidaria, the roles of β-catenin signalling in...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57109-w |
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| Summary: | Abstract Endomesoderm specification by a maternal β-catenin signal and body axis patterning by interpreting a gradient of zygotic Wnt/β-catenin signalling was suggested to predate the split between Bilateria and their sister clade Cnidaria. However, in Cnidaria, the roles of β-catenin signalling in these processes have not been demonstrated directly. Here, by tagging the endogenous β-catenin in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, we confirm that its oral-aboral axis is indeed patterned by a gradient of β-catenin signalling. Strikingly, we show that, in contrast to bilaterians, Nematostella endomesoderm specification is repressed by β-catenin and takes place in the maternal nuclear β-catenin-negative part of the embryo. This completely changes the accepted paradigm and suggests that β-catenin-dependent endomesoderm specification was a bilaterian innovation linking endomesoderm specification to the subsequent posterior-anterior patterning. |
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| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |