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On periodicity and directionality of somitogenesis

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Abstract

It is currently thought that the mechanism underlying somitogenesis is linked to a molecular oscillator, the segmentation clock, and to gradients of signaling molecules within the paraxial mesoderm. Here, we review the current picture of this segmentation clock and gradients, and use this knowledge to critically ask: What is the basis for periodicity and directionality of somitogenesis?

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Acknowledgment

A. A was funded by the Swiss Foundation for medical-biological grants. Current work is supported by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and NIH grant 1R01 HD043158-01. O. P. is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA

    Alexander Aulehla & Olivier Pourquié

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  1. Alexander Aulehla
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  2. Olivier Pourquié
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Correspondence to Olivier Pourquié.

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Aulehla, A., Pourquié, O. On periodicity and directionality of somitogenesis. Brain Struct Funct 211 (Suppl 1), 3–8 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-006-0124-y

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