Search results for " skeleton biomineralization"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
Magnesium deprivation affects development and biomineralization in the sea urchin arba-cia lixula
2018
Skeletogenesis is a key morphogenetic event in the life of marine invertebrates. Marine calcifiers secrete their calcareous skeletons taking up ions from seawater. Marine biominerals include aragonite and calcite, the latter of which in some taxa (e.g. echinoderms, coralline algae) can have a substantial magnesium (Mg) component. Echinoderms have an extensive endoskeleton composed of high magnesian calcite and occluded matrix proteins1. As biomineralization in sea urchin larvae is sensitive to the Magnesium:Calcium ratio of sea water, we investigated the effects of magnesium deprivation on development and skeletogenesis in the Mediterranean sea urchin Arbacia lixula. Microscopic inspection …
Specific expression of a TRIM-containing factor in ectoderm cells affects the skeletal morphogenetic program of the sea urchin embryo
2011
In the indirect developing sea urchin embryo, the primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) acquire most of the positional and temporal information from the overlying ectoderm for skeletal initiation and growth. In this study, we characterize the function of the novel gene strim1, which encodes a tripartite motif-containing (TRIM) protein, that adds to the list of genes constituting the epithelial-mesenchymal signaling network. We report that strim1 is expressed in ectoderm regions adjacent to the bilateral clusters of PMCs and that its misexpression leads to severe skeletal abnormalities. Reciprocally, knock down of strim1 function abrogates PMC positioning and blocks skeletogenesis. Blastomere tran…