| First Author | Guibentif C | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Dev Cell | Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 141-153.e6 |
| PubMed ID | 33308481 | Mgi Jnum | J:300730 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6503758 | Doi | 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.11.013 |
| Citation | Guibentif C, et al. (2021) Diverse Routes toward Early Somites in the Mouse Embryo. Dev Cell 56(1):141-153.e6 |
| abstractText | Somite formation is foundational to creating the vertebrate segmental body plan. Here, we describe three transcriptional trajectories toward somite formation in the early mouse embryo. Precursors of the anterior-most somites ingress through the primitive streak before E7 and migrate anteriorly by E7.5, while a second wave of more posterior somites develops in the vicinity of the streak. Finally, neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs) are set aside for subsequent trunk somitogenesis. Single-cell profiling of T(-/-) chimeric embryos shows that the anterior somites develop in the absence of T and suggests a cell-autonomous function of T as a gatekeeper between paraxial mesoderm production and the building of the NMP pool. Moreover, we identify putative regulators of early T-independent somites and challenge the T-Sox2 cross-antagonism model in early NMPs. Our study highlights the concept of molecular flexibility during early cell-type specification, with broad relevance for pluripotent stem cell differentiation and disease modeling. |
