Morphogen

A morphogen is a substance whose non-uniform distribution governs the pattern of tissue development in the process of morphogenesis or pattern formation, one of the core processes of developmental biology, establishing positions of the various specialized cell types within a tissue. More specifically, a morphogen is a signaling molecule that acts directly on cells to produce specific cellular responses depending on its local concentration.

Typically, morphogens are produced by source cells and diffuse through surrounding tissues in an embryo during early development, such that concentration gradients are set up. These gradients drive the process of differentiation of unspecialised stem cells into different cell types, ultimately forming all the tissues and organs of the body. The control of morphogenesis is a central element in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo).

The term was coined by Alan Turing in the paper "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis", where he predicted a chemical mechanism for biological pattern formation, decades before the formation of such patterns was demonstrated.

The concept of the morphogen has a long history in developmental biology, dating back to the work of the pioneering Drosophila (fruit fly) geneticist, Thomas Hunt Morgan, in the early 20th century. Lewis Wolpert refined the morphogen concept in the 1960s with the French flag model, which described how a morphogen could subdivide a tissue into domains of different target gene expression (corresponding to the colours of the French flag). This model was championed by the leading Drosophila biologist, Peter Lawrence. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard was the first to identify a morphogen, Bicoid, one of the transcription factors present in a gradient in the Drosophila syncitial embryo. She was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for her work explaining the morphogenic embryology of the common fruit fly. Groups led by Gary Struhl and Stephen Cohen then demonstrated that a secreted signalling protein, decapentaplegic (the Drosophila homologue of transforming growth factor beta), acted as a morphogen during the later stages of Drosophila development.

During early development, morphogen gradients result in the differentiation of specific cell types in a distinct spatial order. The morphogen provides spatial information by forming a concentration gradient that subdivides a field of cells by inducing or maintaining the expression of different target genes at distinct concentration thresholds. Thus, cells far from the source of the morphogen will receive low levels of morphogen and express only low-threshold target genes. In contrast, cells close to the source of morphogen will receive high levels of morphogen and will express both low- and high-threshold target genes. Distinct cell types emerge as a consequence of the different combination of target gene expression. In this way, the field of cells is subdivided into different types according to their position relative to the source of the morphogen. This model is assumed to be a general mechanism by which cell type diversity can be generated in embryonic development in animals.

Some of the earliest and best-studied morphogens are transcription factors that diffuse within early Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) embryos. However, most morphogens are secreted proteins that signal between cells.

A morphogen spreads from a localized source and forms a concentration gradient across a developing tissue. In developmental biology, 'morphogen' is rigorously used to mean a signalling molecule that acts directly on cells (not through serial induction) to produce specific cellular responses that depend on morphogen concentration. This definition concerns the mechanism, not any specific chemical formula, so simple compounds such as retinoic acid (the active metabolite of retinol or vitamin A) may also act as morphogens. The model is not universally accepted due to specific issues with setting up a gradient in the tissue outlined in the French flag model and subsequent work showing that the morphogen gradient of the Drosophila embryo is more complex than the simple gradient model would indicate.

Proposed mammalian morphogens include retinoic acid, sonic hedgehog (SHH), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)/bone morphogenic protein (BMP), and Wnt/beta-catenin. Morphogens in Drosophila include decapentaplegic and hedgehog.