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The Questions of Developmental Biology

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It appears that the specification <strong>of</strong> cell fates in sea urchins involves a cascade initiated by<br />

the micromeres. It has been hypothesized (Davidson 1989) that the signal from the micromeres<br />

induces a post-translational modification in some factor in the veg 2 layer. Similarly, the signal<br />

from the veg 2 layer probably modifies some protein (possibly a transcription factor) in the veg 1<br />

layer. In this way, the different tiers are assigned different fates.<br />

Axis specification<br />

In the sea urchin blastula, the cell fates line up along the animal-vegetal axis established<br />

in the egg cytoplasm prior to fertilization. <strong>The</strong> animal-vegetal axis also appears to structure the<br />

future anterior-posterior axis, with the vegetal region sequestering those maternal components<br />

necessary for posterior development (Boveri 1901; Maruyama et al. 1985).<br />

In most sea urchins, the dorsal-ventral and left-right axes are specified after fertilization,<br />

but the manner <strong>of</strong> their specification is not well understood. Since the first cleavage plane can be<br />

either parallel, perpendicular, or oblique with respect to the eventual dorsal-ventral axis, it is<br />

probable that the dorsal-ventral axis is not specified until the 8-cell stage, when there are cell<br />

boundaries that correspond to these positions (Kominami 1983; Henry et al. 1992). Interestingly,<br />

in those sea urchins that bypass the larval stage to develop directly into juveniles, the dorsalventral<br />

axis is specified maternally in the egg cytoplasm (Henry and Raff 1990).<br />

Sea Urchin Gastrulation<br />

<strong>The</strong> late sea urchin blastula consists <strong>of</strong> single layer <strong>of</strong> about 1000 cells that form a hollow<br />

ball, somewhat flattened at the vegetal end. <strong>The</strong> blastomeres, derived from different regions <strong>of</strong><br />

the zygote, have different sizes and properties. Figures 8.16 and 8.17 show the fates <strong>of</strong> the various<br />

regions <strong>of</strong> the blastula as it develops through gastrulation to the pluteus larva stage characteristic<br />

<strong>of</strong> sea urchins. <strong>The</strong> fate <strong>of</strong> each cell layer can be seen through its movements during gastrulation.

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