RESUMEN

MOTIVATION: The importance of a systematic methodology for the mathematical characterization of three-dimensional gene expression patterns in embryonic development. METHODS: By combining lacunarity and multiscale fractal dimension analyses with computer-based methods of three-dimensional reconstruction, it becomes possible to extract new information from in situ hybridization studies. Lacunarity and fractality are appropriate measures for the cloud-like gene activation signals in embryonic tissues. The newly introduced multiscale method provides a natural extension of the fractal dimension concept, being capable of characterizing the fractality of geometrical patterns in terms of spatial scale. This tool can be systematically applied to three-dimensional patterns of gene expression. RESULTS: Applications are illustrated using the three-dimensional expression patterns of the myogenic marker gene Myf5 in a series of differentiating somites of a mouse embryo.

Asunto(s)

Proteínas de Unión al ADN/metabolismo , Embrión de Mamíferos/metabolismo , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica/métodos , Interpretación de Imagen Asistida por Computador/métodos , Imagenología Tridimensional/métodos , Hibridación Fluorescente in Situ/métodos , Microscopía Fluorescente/métodos , Proteínas Musculares/metabolismo , Transactivadores/metabolismo , Animales , Técnicas de Cultivo , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Fractales , Regulación de la Expresión Génica/fisiología , Ratones , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Factor 5 Regulador Miogénico , Análisis Numérico Asistido por Computador , Reconocimiento de Normas Patrones Automatizadas , Distribución Tisular , Transactivadores/genética , Activación Transcripcional