Susan Wopat, Priyom Adhyapok, Bijoy Daga, Janice M Crawford, James Norman, Jennifer Bagwell, Brianna Peskin, Indrasen Magre, Stephanie M Fogerson, Daniel S Levic, Stefano Di Talia, Daniel P Kiehart, Patrick Charbonneau, Michel Bagnat
In bony fishes, patterning of the vertebral column, or spine, is guided by a metameric blueprint established in the notochord sheath. Notochord segmentation begins days after somitogenesis concludes and can occur in its absence. However, somite patterning defects lead to imprecise notochord segmentation, suggesting that these processes are linked. Here, we identify that interactions between the notochord and the axial musculature ensure precise spatiotemporal segmentation of the zebrafish spine. We demonstrate that myoseptum-notochord linkages drive notochord segment initiation by locally deforming the notochord extracellular matrix and recruiting focal adhesion machinery at these contact points...
April 26, 2024: Developmental Cell