We are excited to share our latest study published in Development, titled “Unravelling differential Hes1 dynamics during axis elongation of mouse embryos through single-cell tracking”. In this work, Yasmine led the experiments to investigate the dynamics of Hes1 gene expression in the developing vertebrate embryonic tail and its role in somitogenesis.
Using an endogenously tagged Hes1-Achilles mouse line, we quantified Hes1 dynamics at single-cell resolution across different tissues. Our results reveal striking differences between presomitic mesoderm (PSM) and preneural tube (pre-NT) cells: PSM cells show synchronized, high-amplitude oscillations, whereas pre-NT cells display variable, low-amplitude oscillations. Upon differentiation, oscillation amplitude increases in pre-NT cells. Notably, Notch inhibition affects Hes1 dynamics differently in these two tissues, reflecting differences in Notch ligand expression.
These findings highlight that Hes1 oscillations exhibit tissue-specific dynamics, with implications for how cells transmit information during embryonic development.