Wang, Sheng-YueGarcía Ojalvo, JordiElowitz, Michael B.2023-01-162023-01-162022Wang S, Garcia-Ojalvo J, Elowitz MB. Periodic spatial patterning with a single morphogen. Cell Syst. 2022 Dec 21;13(12):1033-47.e7. DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2022.11.0012405-4712http://hdl.handle.net/10230/55277During multicellular development, periodic spatial patterning systems generate repetitive structures, such as digits, vertebrae, and teeth. Turing patterning provides a foundational paradigm for understanding such systems. The simplest Turing systems are believed to require at least two morphogens to generate periodic patterns. Here, using mathematical modeling, we show that a simpler circuit, including only a single diffusible morphogen, is sufficient to generate long-range, spatially periodic patterns that propagate outward from transient initiating perturbations and remain stable after the perturbation is removed. Furthermore, an additional bistable intracellular feedback or operation on a growing cell lattice can make patterning robust to noise. Together, these results show that a single morphogen can be sufficient for robust spatial pattern formation and should provide a foundation for engineering pattern formation in the emerging field of synthetic developmental biology.application/pdfeng© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2022.11.001Pattern formationReaction-diffusionSingle morphogeninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess