Wnt dynamics at the blastopore and stomodeum during sea urchin gastrulation

In the sea urchin embryo, as many as ten Wnts are expressed by cells that undergo gastrulation movements. Here, Wnt1, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 16 are examined to learn details of expression and function over time using results from a temporal scRNA-seq analysis coupled with hybridization chain reaction in situ analysis in which multiple wnt genes are localized simultaneously in the same embryo. The data reveal that many cells express two or three wnt genes at the same time. A single sharp boundary of...