Answer
A morphogen refers to positional information in the form of an inducer. A morphogen diffuses to surrounding cells and establishes a concentration gradient. A morphogen must fit 2 criteria: it must directly affect target cells and must offer different effects based on different signal concentrations.
The bicoid protein is a maternal effect gene whose concentration gradient establishes the anterior-posterior axis during the production of Drosophila embryos. Since it fit both criteria listed above, bicoid became the first classified morphogen.
Work Step by Step
A morphogen refers to positional information in the form of an inducer. A morphogen diffuses to surrounding cells and establishes a concentration gradient. A morphogen must fit 2 criteria: it must directly affect target cells and must offer different effects based on different signal concentrations.
The bicoid protein is a maternal effect gene whose concentration gradient establishes the anterior-posterior axis during the production of Drosophila embryos. Since it fit both criteria listed above, bicoid became the first classified morphogen.
