The figure below is from ROttinger et al. Development (2009), which is a study t
ID: 132047 • Letter: T
Question
The figure below is from ROttinger et al. Development (2009), which is a study trying to understand the function of fgf ligands and receptors during gastrulation using sea urchin as a model organism. This image is an in situ hybridization of fgf and the fgf receptor (fgfr) in sea urchin embryos at an early stage of gastrulation. What can you conclude from these images? (Where are these molecules enriched? What information is being provided by the in situ hybridizations?) gf (ligand) fgfr (receptor)Explanation / Answer
Solution:
The detection of the target mRNAs inside individual cells is carried out using in-situ hybridization technique.
The pictures given above prove clearly that the mRNA for the fgf ligand is transcribed in the outermost layer. This outermost layer is the "future" ectoderm.
The transcription of the mRNA for the corresponding receptor takes place in the blastocoel in the mesenchymal cells.
Therefore the ectoderm expresses fibroblast growth factor ligand which binds to the receptor.
Now since the mesenchyme are known to undergo EMT and migration during this phase, fgf may help this process.
The second picture clearly depicts that some the cells seem to be displaced upward, indicating possible mesenchyme movement.
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