Understanding the mechanism of gastrulation-the early phase in embryonic development where the blastula loses its symmetry and forms organized germ layers（i.e.endoderm,mesoderm,and ectoderm）-has long been a major ch...Understanding the mechanism of gastrulation-the early phase in embryonic development where the blastula loses its symmetry and forms organized germ layers（i.e.endoderm,mesoderm,and ectoderm）-has long been a major challenge to the field of developmental biology.A long standing objective in developmental biology is not only to direct the differentiation of ESCs into specific developmental lineages,but also to organize these differentiated lineages into spatially distinct arrangements resembling the physiological gastrulation.In vivo,research on embryo morphogenesis in lower animals has demonstrated the importance of mechanical forces<sup>[1-3]</sup>.In vitro,experiments of self-sorting utilize pairwise sorting assays where two types of differentiated germ cells are homogeneously mixed<sup>[4]</sup>.It has not been possible to study the or-展开更多
基金supported by the funds from Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyUS NIH grant GM072744
文摘Understanding the mechanism of gastrulation-the early phase in embryonic development where the blastula loses its symmetry and forms organized germ layers（i.e.endoderm,mesoderm,and ectoderm）-has long been a major challenge to the field of developmental biology.A long standing objective in developmental biology is not only to direct the differentiation of ESCs into specific developmental lineages,but also to organize these differentiated lineages into spatially distinct arrangements resembling the physiological gastrulation.In vivo,research on embryo morphogenesis in lower animals has demonstrated the importance of mechanical forces<sup>[1-3]</sup>.In vitro,experiments of self-sorting utilize pairwise sorting assays where two types of differentiated germ cells are homogeneously mixed<sup>[4]</sup>.It has not been possible to study the or-
