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Developmental Biology

Gene Regulatory Networks

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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

Modeling And Analysis Of Germ Layer Formations Using Finite Dynamical Systems, Alexander Garza, Megan Eberle, Eric A. Eager Aug 2016

Modeling And Analysis Of Germ Layer Formations Using Finite Dynamical Systems, Alexander Garza, Megan Eberle, Eric A. Eager

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

The development of an embryo from a fertilised egg to a multicellular organism proceeds through numerous steps, with the formation of the three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm) being one of the first. In this paper we study the mesendoderm (the tissue that collectively gives rise to both mesoderm and endoderm) gene regulatory network for two species, \textit{Xenopus laevis} and the axolotl (\textit{Ambystoma mexicanum}) using Boolean networks. We find that previously-established bistability found in these networks can be reproduced using this Boolean framework, provided that some assumptions used in previously-published differential equations models are relaxed. We conclude by discussing our …


Dauer Larva Quiescence Alters The Circuitry Of Microrna Pathways Regulating Cell Fate Progression In C. Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Dauer Larva Quiescence Alters The Circuitry Of Microrna Pathways Regulating Cell Fate Progression In C. Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

In C. elegans larvae, the execution of stage-specific developmental events is controlled by heterochronic genes, which include those encoding a set of transcription factors and the microRNAs that regulate the timing of their expression. Under adverse environmental conditions, developing larvae enter a stress-resistant, quiescent stage called 'dauer'. Dauer larvae are characterized by the arrest of all progenitor cell lineages at a stage equivalent to the end of the second larval stage (L2). If dauer larvae encounter conditions favorable for resumption of reproductive growth, they recover and complete development normally, indicating that post-dauer larvae possess mechanisms to accommodate an indefinite period …


Micrornas: Genetically Sensitized Worms Reveal New Secrets, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Micrornas: Genetically Sensitized Worms Reveal New Secrets, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Why do many microRNA gene mutants display no evident phenotype? Multiply mutant worms that are selectively impaired in genetic regulatory network activities have been used to uncover previously unknown functions for numerous Caenorhabditis elegans microRNAs.