Precision of morphogen gradients in neural tube development

Morphogen gradients encode positional information during development. Here the authors use theory and simulations to suggest a positional accuracy of single gradients that directly explains the observed precision of progenitor domain boundaries. Morphogen gradients encode positional information during development. How high patterning precision is achieved despite natural variation in both the morphogen gradients and in the readout process, is still largely elusive. Here, we show that the positional error of gradients in the mouse neural tube has previously been overestimated, and that the reported accuracy of the central progenitor domain boundaries in the mouse neural tube can be achieved with a single gradient, rather than requiring the simultaneous readout of opposing gradients. Consistently and independently, numerical simulations based on measured molecular noise levels likewise result in lower gradient variabilities than reported. Finally, we show that the patterning mechanism yields progenitor cell numbers with even greater precision than boundary positions, as gradient amplitude changes do not affect interior progenitor domain sizes. We conclude that single gradients can yield the observed developmental precision, which provides prospects for tissue engineering.

Automated summary

Morphogen gradients encode positional information during development. This study shows that the observed precision of progenitor domain boundaries can be achieved with a single gradient, and the patterning mechanism can generate even greater precision in progenitor cell numbers.