Table 1 –

Mesoderm inducing signaling pathways and their role in NMPs.

Signaling Pathway	Role in gastrula stage mesoderm induction and patterning	Role in NMP-derived mesoderm induction	Role in NMP-derived mesoderm patterning
Nodal	Essential for mesoderm (and endoderm) induction and promotes dorsal/medial patterning [15, 16].	Not essential as loss of function during NMP-derived mesoderm induction has no impact on mesoderm formation [17].	No role currently identified.
FGF	Essential for induction of posterior mesoderm and patterning into dorsal/medial fates [15, 18].	Essential for EMT completion during NMP-derived mesoderm induction. Loss of FGF signaling in mesoderm fated NMPs causes them to be trapped in the partial EMT state and prevents mesodermal differentiation [19].	Essential for patterning NMP-derived mesoderm into the paraxial mesoderm fate [20].
Canonical Wnt	Essential for mesoderm induction and patterning, with maternal signaling promoting dorsal/medial fates and zygotic signaling promoting ventral/lateral fates [15, 21].	Essential for both the maintenance of NMPs and the induction of NMP-derived mesoderm. This pathway is required for EMT initiation during NMP-derived mesoderm induction [3, 10, 22].	Essential for patterning NMP-derived mesoderm into the paraxial mesoderm fate [3].
BMP	Plays a role in mesoderm induction and patterning. Best known for pattering mesoderm into ventral/lateral fates [15, 23].	No direct role currently identified.	Essential for patterning NMP-derived mesoderm into the lateral mesoderm fate [20, 24].