Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Model for Embryonic Patterning: From Signaling Dynamics to Spatial Organization in a Dish

In vivo studies have identified the signaling pathways and transcription factors involved in patterning the vertebrate embryo, but much remains unknown about how these are organized in space and time to orchestrate embryogenesis. Recently, embryonic stem cells have been established as a platform for studying spatial pattern formation and differentiation dynamics in the early mammalian embryo. The ease of observing and manipulating stem cell systems promises to fill gaps in our understanding of developmental dynamics and identify aspects that are uniquely human. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.