Morphogenetic field
In the developmental biology of the early twentieth century, a morphogenetic field is a research hypothesis and a discrete region of cells in an embryo.[1][2]
The term morphogenetic field
The spatial and temporal extents of such a region of embryonic stem cells are dynamic, and within it is a collection of interacting cells out of which a particular tissue, organ, or body part is formed.[5]
As a group, the cells within a morphogenetic field in an embryo are constrained: thus, cells in a limb field will become a limb tissue, those in a
The Imaginal disc in larvae is an example of a discrete morphogenetic field region of cells in an insect embryo.[7]
History
- Early concept development
The concept of the morphogenetic field was first introduced in 1910 by
Harrison was able to identify "fields" of cells producing organs such as limbs, tail and gills and to show that these fields could be fragmented or have undifferentiated cells added and a complete normal final structure would still result. It was thus considered that it was the "field" of cells, rather than individual cells, that were patterned for subsequent development of particular organs. The field concept was developed further by Harrison's friend
- Rise of modern genetics
By the 1930s, however, the work of geneticists, especially Thomas Hunt Morgan, revealed the importance of chromosomes and genes for controlling development, and the rise of the new synthesis in evolutionary biology lessened the perceived importance of the field hypothesis. Morgan was a particularly harsh critic of fields since the gene and the field were perceived as competitors for recognition as the basic unit of ontogeny.[5] With the discovery and mapping of master control genes, such as the homeobox genes which were first discovered in 1983, the pre-eminence of genes seemed assured.
- Rediscovery of the field concept
In the late twentieth century the field concept of ontogenesis was "rediscovered" as a useful part of developmental biology. It was found, for example, that different mutations could cause the same malformations, suggesting that the mutations were affecting a complex of structures as a unit, a unit that might correspond to the field of early 20th century embryology. In 1996 Scott F. Gilbert proposed that the morphogenetic field was a middle ground between genes and evolution.[5] That is, genes act upon fields, which then act upon the developing organism.[5] Then in 2000 Jessica Bolker described morphogenetic fields not merely as incipient structures or organs, but as dynamic entities with their own localized development processes, which are central to the emerging field of Evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo").[9]
- Decline of the concept
In 2005, Sean B. Carroll and colleagues mention morphogenetic fields merely as a concept proposed by early embryologists to explain the finding that a forelimb bud could be transplanted and still give rise to a forelimb; they define "field" simply as "a discrete region" in an embryo.[2]
References
- ^ PMID 9449452.[permanent dead link], with comment by SF Gilbert and JM Optiz.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4051-1950-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8153-3218-3.
- PMID 3076860.
- ^ PMID 8605997.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87893-258-0.
- ISBN 978-0-8153-3218-3.
- PMID 1682124.
- S2CID 198157009.
Further reading
- Davidson EH (1 July 1993). "Later embryogenesis: regulatory circuitry in morphogenetic fields". Development. 118 (3): 665–90. PMID 7915668.
- Gilbert SF (2006). "The "Re-discovery" of Morphogenic Fields. in: DevBio: a companion to Developmental Biology, 8th ed". Sinauer Associates. Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
External links
- See a morphogenetic field model and simulation at: Lahoz-Beltra, R., Selem Mojica, N., Perales-Gravan, C., Navarro, J., Marijuan, P.C., 2008. Towards a Morphogenetic Field Theory. [1]