Optimal morphogen profiles for combinatorial position determination in the Drosophila embryo
By: Tiago Ramalho
From: Univ München, Germany
At: Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar, B2-01
[2011-06-02]
Complex gene transcriptional networks control cell differentiation in the Drosophila embryo, however their behavior depends on the initial concentration profiles of a few morphogens. These morphogens conveypositional information by regulating downstream target genes in a combinatorial way. Which combinations of profiles are best suited to accurately determine position anywhere within the embryo? We address this question using established thermodynamic models for combinatorial transcriptional regulation in combination with an optimization procedure based on a quantitative criterion for positional accuracy. We report the optimal profiles for different numbers of input morphogen profiles and discuss our results in the light of the experimentally known profiles for the anteroposterior axis of Drosophila embryos.