TGF-β sensu stricto signaling regulates skeletal morphogenesis in the sea urchin embryo

Cell-cell signaling plays a prominent role in the formation of the embryonic skeleton of sea urchins, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we uncover an essential role for TGF-beta sensu stricto signaling in this process. We show that TgfbrtII, a type II receptor dedicated to signaling through TGF-beta sensu stricto, is expressed selectively in skeletogenic primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) during skeleton formation. Morpholino (MO) knockdowns and studies with a specific TgfbrtlI inhibitor (ITD-1) in both S. purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus embryos show that this receptor is required for biomineral deposition. We provide pharmacological evidence that Alk4/5/7 is the cognate TGF-beta type I receptor that pairs with TgfbrtII and show by inhibitor treatments of isolated micromeres cultured in vitro that both Alk4/5/7 and TgfbrtII function cell autonomously in PMCs. Gene expression and gene knockdown studies suggest that TGF-beta sensu stricto may be the ligand that interacts with TgfbrtlI and support the view that this TGF-beta superfamily ligand provides an essential, permissive cue for skeletogenesis, although it is unlikely to provide spatial patterning information. Taken together, our findings reveal that this model morphogenetic process involves an even more diverse suite of cell signaling pathways than previously appreciated and show that PMCs integrate a complex set of both generalized and spatially localized cues in assembling the endoskeleton.