Control of mesoderm involution during gastrulation

动物和人类的身体计划是在胚胎发育早期通过一系列组织运动建立起来的，这些组织运动统称为原肠胚形成。在原肠胚形成过程中，日后形成身体内部器官的细胞从胚胎表面移动到胚胎内部。温克尔鲍尔的研究小组研究了一种模式生物——非洲爪蟾（Xenopus laevis）青蛙——是如何控制这种运动的。有趣的是，当胚胎皮肤受伤时，参与调节原肠胚形成的基因也会被激活，这表明伤口愈合过程和胚胎组织运动之间存在联系，这可能会导致重要的生物医学发现。

The body plan of animals and humans is established in early embryonic development by a series of tissue movements, which are collectively referred to as gastrulation. During gastrulation, cells that will later form the inner organs of the body move from the surface to the interior of the embryo.Dr. Winklbauer's research group studies how this movement is controlled in a model organism, the frog Xenopus laevis. Interestingly, genes that are involved in regulating gastrulation are also activated when the embryonic skin is wounded, suggesting a link between wound healing processes and embryonic tissue movements that could lead to important biomedical discoveries.