{
  "id": 18093010,
  "title": "Species-specific WNT requirements shape somite morphogenesis in mammalian embryo models",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/species-specific-wnt-requirements-shape-somite-morphogenesis-in",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.03.763751v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Somitogenesis, the process that establishes the metameric body plan of the vertebrate embryo, can be reproduced in vitro using stem cell-based embryo models. While these systems have been successfully established for individual species, they have not been extensively compared across species, leaving unanswered questions about how conserved developmental programs generate unique tissue organization in different species. This study investigated somitogenesis in embryo models derived from human, pig, sheep, and cow pluripotent stem cells, examining how WNT signalling and the extracellular matrix regulate axis segmentation.\n\nUnder the same induction conditions, human and pig models exhibited differences in cell-type composition and morphology, indicating distinct modes of axial elongation. Supplementing these models with increased WNT stimulation led to somite formation in pig models, but not in human models, which did not restore ordered segmentation. Moreover, each mammalian species required a unique level of WNT stimulation and time for embedding the extracellular matrix to form somites. Comparative analyses also uncovered species-specific differences in progenitor dynamics. Human models, which exhibited ordered segmentation, retained a posterior mesoderm-producing domain, while pig models experienced rapid depletion of this domain, coinciding with simultaneous somite formation.\n\nIn summary, these findings highlight species-specific requirements for mammalian somitogenesis in stem cell-derived embryo models. The study suggests that maintaining a posterior axial domain is crucial for ordered segmentation.",
  "summary": "Somitogenesis establishes the metameric body plan of the vertebrate embryo and can be recapitulated in vitro using stem cell-based embryo models. Although these systems are well established in individual species, they have rarely been compared across species, leaving unresolved how conserved developmental programmes generate species-specific tissue organisation. Here, we compare somitogenesis in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}