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. 2020 Sep 24;9:e54573. doi: 10.7554/eLife.54573

Figure 11. A model of Nematostella PGC specification and migration.

Figure 11.

(A) In wild-type 4 dpf tentacle bud larvae, hh1 (yellow) and ptc (orange) are expressed in the pharyngeal ectoderm and endomesoderm, respectively. Between 4 to 8 dpf when larvae metamorphose to primary polyps, Hh1 signals to neighboring endomesodermal cells and specifies Vas2/piwi1-positive PGC clusters (red) in the primary mesenteries. Meanwhile, perinuclear Vas2 granules (red dots) within endodermal cells (gray) gradually diminish. After initial specification, the PGC clusters undergo EMT and migrate to gonad rudiments during the juvenile stage. (B) hh1 KD, gli KD, hh1 mutants and gli gRNA-Cas9 injected embryos develop reduced or absent PGCs clusters, indicating a requirement for Hh signaling in this process, whether direct or indirect. (C) Drug treatments inhibiting Smo activity between 4 to 8 dpf impair PGC specification. However, some polyps still form reduced numbers of PGCs at later time points, possibly due to compensatory PGC proliferation. Note that the reduced ptc expression depicted in B is supported by FISH data in hh1 mutants but is presumptive in C.