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The Work Surfaces of Morphogenesis: The Role of the Morphogenetic Field

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The mystery of how [form] was all, and is, brought about is still with us–unsolved!

—Wardlaw (1970)

Abstract

How biological form is generated remains one of the most fascinating but elusive challenges for science. Moreover, it is widely documented in contemporary literature that development is tightly coordinated. The idea that such development is governed by a coordinating field of force, the morphogenetic field, and its position in embryology research paradigms, is traced in this article. Empirical evidences for field phenomena are described, ranging from bioelectromagnetic effects, morphology, transplantation, regeneration, and other data. Applications of medical potential including treatment of cancer, birth defects, and wound healing are highlighted. The article hypothesizes that distinct morphological forms may have distinct field parameters. Experimentally tractable field parameters may thus provide an exciting research program for probing morphogenesis and phylogenetic diversity.

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Notes

  1. The organizer is in turn thought to be induced by a signal secreted by the Nieuwkoop center, with similar signaling centres discovered in the zebrafish, chick, and sea urchin (reviewed by Vonica and Gumbiner 2007). Inducers released by the organizer have now been identified which encode antagonists of bone morphogenetic protein, Nodal or Wnt growth factors. The field parameters may be characterized by the different expression domains of these growth factors and their antagonists, which create signaling gradients, which in turn are implicated in patterning the early embryo in a combinatorial fashion (Niehrs 2004).

  2. File S1 in Online Resource 1 is a higher resolution of the Z-series from Tyler and Kimber (2006) web material at http://www.ijdb.ehu.es/data/05/052007st/S4.mov.

    The file shows morphological evidence for a field system in Crepidula mollusc eggs. It is a confocal imaging Z-series of microtubules stained with FITC-anti-α tubulin antibody. All optical sections of 5 μm interval; 16-cell stage leading to 20-cell formation. Progressing through the Z-series reveals interconnection of microtubular network and orientation of spindles and asters with reference to one another throughout the whole embryo; 72 sections.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Barbara Verrall for helpful comments on the manuscript, and Luke Tyler for assistance with proof reading.

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  1. John Ray Research Field Station, Cheshire, UK

    Sheena E. B. Tyler

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Correspondence to Sheena E. B. Tyler.

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Tyler, S.E.B. The Work Surfaces of Morphogenesis: The Role of the Morphogenetic Field. Biol Theory 9, 194–208 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-014-0177-8

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