TY - JOUR T1 - Unique morphogenetic signatures define mammalian neck muscles and associated connective tissues JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/380774 SP - 380774 AU - Eglantine Heude AU - Marketa Tesarova AU - Elizabeth M. Sefton AU - Estelle Jullian AU - Noritaka Adachi AU - Alexandre Grimaldi AU - Tomas Zikmund AU - Jozef Kaiser AU - Gabrielle Kardon AU - Robert G. Kelly AU - Shahragim Tajbakhsh Y1 - 2018/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/03/380774.abstract N2 - In vertebrates, head and trunk muscles develop from different mesodermal populations and are regulated by distinct genetic networks. Neck muscles at the head-trunk interface remain poorly defined due to their complex morphogenesis and dual mesodermal origins. Here, we use genetically modified mice to establish a 3D model that integrates regulatory genes, cell populations and morphogenetic events that define this transition zone. We show that the evolutionary conserved cucullaris-derived muscles originate from posterior cardiopharyngeal mesoderm, not lateral plate mesoderm, and we define new boundaries for neural crest and mesodermal contributions to neck connective tissue. Furthermore, lineage studies and functional analysis of Tbx1- and Pax3-null mice reveal a unique genetic program for somitic neck muscles that is distinct from that of somitic trunk muscles. Our findings unveil the embryological and developmental requirements underlying tetrapod neck myogenesis and provide a blueprint to investigate how muscle subsets are selectively affected in some human myopathies. ER -