Establishment of organismal body axes

In a broad array of animals, the primary body axis (e.g. heads vs. tails, or anterior vs. posterior), is programmed directly into the egg. What are the molecular cues that define this axis and how do they transmit that information into the developing embryo? We are determining how an ancient regulator of anterior-posterior polarity, a protein called Dishevelled, becomes specifically activated at the bottom portion of the egg that will give rise to the posterior embryo.

Relevant publications:

Swartz SZ, Tan TH, Perillo M, Fakhri N, Wessel GM, Wikramanayake AH, Cheeseman IM. Polarized Dishevelled dissolution and reassembly drives embryonic axis specification in sea star oocytes. Curr Biol. 2021;31(24):5633-41 e4. Epub 2021/11/06. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.022.