News
View the latest news from departments within the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine below.
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine News Read more from Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine News
Computer Science News Read more from Computer Science News
Statistics News and Events Read more from Statistics News and Events
Physics Department News Read more from Physics Department News
News Library Read more from News Library
Life Sciences News Read more from Life Sciences News
School of Engineering News Read more from School of Engineering News
WMG News Read more from WMG News
Maths Read more from Mathematics Institute News
News from Medical School Read more from Latest News
Long-range formation of the Bicoid gradient requires multiple dynamic modes that spatially vary across the embryo
Morphogen gradients provide essential positional information to gene networks through their spatially heterogeneous distribution, yet how they form is still hotly contested, with multiple models proposed for different systems. Here, we focus on the transcription factor Bicoid (Bcd), a morphogen that forms an exponential gradient across the anterior-posterior (AP) axis of the early Drosophila embryo. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy we find there are spatial differences in Bcd diffusivity along the AP axis, with Bcd diffusing more rapidly in the posterior. We establish that such spatially varying differences in Bcd dynamics are sufficient to explain how Bcd can have a steep exponential gradient in the anterior half of the embryo and yet still have an observable fraction of Bcd near the posterior pole. In the nucleus, we demonstrate that Bcd dynamics are impacted by binding to DNA. Addition of the Bcd homeodomain to eGFP::NLS qualitatively replicates the Bcd concentration profile, suggesting this domain regulates Bcd dynamics. Our results reveal how a long-range gradient can form while retaining a steep profile through much of its range. Read the paper here.