Gene regulatory control in the sea urchin aboral ectoderm: Spatial initiation, signaling inputs, and cell fate lockdown

The regulation of oral–aboral ectoderm specification in the sea urchin embryo has been extensively studied in recent years. The oral–aboral polarity is initially imposed downstream of a redox gradient induced by asymmetric maternal distribution of mitochondria. Two TGF-β signaling pathways, Nodal and BMP, are then respectively utilized in the generation of oral and aboral regulatory states. However, a causal understanding of the regulation of aboral ectoderm specification has been lacking. In this work control of aboral ectoderm regulatory state specification was revealed by combining detailed regulatory gene expression studies, perturbation and cis-regulatory analyses. Our analysis illuminates a dynamic system where different factors dominate at different developmental times. We found that the initial activation of aboral genes depends directly on the redox sensitive transcription factor, hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). Two BMP ligands, BMP2/4 and BMP5/8, then significantly enhance aboral regulatory gene transcription. Ultimately, encoded feedback wiring lockdown the aboral ectoderm regulatory state. Our study elucidates the different regulatory mechanisms that sequentially dominate the spatial localization of aboral regulatory states.

► Aboral ectoderm specification in the sea urchin embryo is controlled by multiple mechanisms.
► A redox sensitive transcription factor initiates the aboral ectoderm regulatory state.
► Two different BMP ligands provide inputs essential for continuing activity of aboral ectoderm regulatory genes.
► The aboral ectoderm regulatory state is locked down by a positive feedback wiring.