IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-57109-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

β-catenin-driven endomesoderm specification is a Bilateria-specific novelty

Author

Listed:
  • Tatiana Lebedeva

    (University of Vienna
    University of Vienna
    Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

  • Johan Boström

    (Medical University of Vienna)

  • Stanislav Kremnyov

    (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

  • David Mörsdorf

    (University of Vienna)

  • Isabell Niedermoser

    (University of Vienna
    University of Vienna)

  • Evgeny Genikhovich

    (Engelsa pr. 40-6)

  • Andreas Hejnol

    (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

  • Igor Adameyko

    (Medical University of Vienna
    Karolinska Institutet)

  • Grigory Genikhovich

    (University of Vienna)

Abstract

Endomesoderm specification by a maternal β-catenin signal and body axis patterning by interpreting a gradient of zygotic Wnt/β-catenin signalling was suggested to predate the split between Bilateria and their sister clade Cnidaria. However, in Cnidaria, the roles of β-catenin signalling in these processes have not been demonstrated directly. Here, by tagging the endogenous β-catenin in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, we confirm that its oral-aboral axis is indeed patterned by a gradient of β-catenin signalling. Strikingly, we show that, in contrast to bilaterians, Nematostella endomesoderm specification is repressed by β-catenin and takes place in the maternal nuclear β-catenin-negative part of the embryo. This completely changes the accepted paradigm and suggests that β-catenin-dependent endomesoderm specification was a bilaterian innovation linking endomesoderm specification to the subsequent posterior-anterior patterning.

Suggested Citation

  • Tatiana Lebedeva & Johan Boström & Stanislav Kremnyov & David Mörsdorf & Isabell Niedermoser & Evgeny Genikhovich & Andreas Hejnol & Igor Adameyko & Grigory Genikhovich, 2025. "β-catenin-driven endomesoderm specification is a Bilateria-specific novelty," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57109-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57109-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57109-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-57109-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aissam Ikmi & Sean A. McKinney & Kym M. Delventhal & Matthew C. Gibson, 2014. "TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in the early-branching metazoan Nematostella vectensis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Tatiana Lebedeva & Andrew J. Aman & Thomas Graf & Isabell Niedermoser & Bob Zimmermann & Yulia Kraus & Magdalena Schatka & Adrien Demilly & Ulrich Technau & Grigory Genikhovich, 2021. "Cnidarian-bilaterian comparison reveals the ancestral regulatory logic of the β-catenin dependent axial patterning," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Sven Leininger & Marcin Adamski & Brith Bergum & Corina Guder & Jing Liu & Mary Laplante & Jon Bråte & Friederike Hoffmann & Sofia Fortunato & Signe Jordal & Hans Tore Rapp & Maja Adamska, 2014. "Developmental gene expression provides clues to relationships between sponge and eumetazoan body plans," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Yulia Kraus & Andy Aman & Ulrich Technau & Grigory Genikhovich, 2016. "Pre-bilaterian origin of the blastoporal axial organizer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, September.
    5. Arne Kusserow & Kevin Pang & Carsten Sturm & Martina Hrouda & Jan Lentfer & Heiko A. Schmidt & Ulrich Technau & Arndt von Haeseler & Bert Hobmayer & Mark Q. Martindale & Thomas W. Holstein, 2005. "Unexpected complexity of the Wnt gene family in a sea anemone," Nature, Nature, vol. 433(7022), pages 156-160, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bob Zimmermann & Juan D. Montenegro & Sofia M. C. Robb & Whitney J. Fropf & Lukas Weilguny & Shuonan He & Shiyuan Chen & Jessica Lovegrove-Walsh & Eric M. Hill & Cheng-Yi Chen & Katerina Ragkousi & Da, 2023. "Topological structures and syntenic conservation in sea anemone genomes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Christine Guzman & Kurato Mohri & Ryotaro Nakamura & Minato Miyake & Yuko Tsuchiya & Kentaro Tomii & Hiroshi Watanabe, 2024. "Neuronal and non-neuronal functions of the synaptic cell adhesion molecule neurexin in Nematostella vectensis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Leslie S. Babonis & Camille Enjolras & Abigail J. Reft & Brent M. Foster & Fredrik Hugosson & Joseph F. Ryan & Marymegan Daly & Mark Q. Martindale, 2023. "Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in a sea anemone," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Fangyuan Zhang & Fei Qiu & Junlan Zeng & Zhichao Xu & Yueli Tang & Tengfei Zhao & Yuqin Gou & Fei Su & Shiyi Wang & Xiuli Sun & Zheyong Xue & Weixing Wang & Chunxian Yang & Lingjiang Zeng & Xiaozhong , 2023. "Revealing evolution of tropane alkaloid biosynthesis by analyzing two genomes in the Solanaceae family," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Alison G. Cole & Stefan M. Jahnel & Sabrina Kaul & Julia Steger & Julia Hagauer & Andreas Denner & Patricio Ferrer Murguia & Elisabeth Taudes & Bob Zimmermann & Robert Reischl & Patrick R. H. Steinmet, 2023. "Muscle cell-type diversification is driven by bHLH transcription factor expansion and extensive effector gene duplications," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Paula Miramón-Puértolas & Eudald Pascual-Carreras & Patrick R. H. Steinmetz, 2024. "A population of Vasa2 and Piwi1 expressing cells generates germ cells and neurons in a sea anemone," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Julia Baranyk & Kristen Malir & Miguel A. P. Silva & Sakura Rieck & Gracie Scheve & Nagayasu Nakanishi, 2025. "Structural, molecular and developmental evidence for cell-type diversity in cnidarian mechanosensory neurons," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57109-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.