morfogene
A morfogene, or morphogen, is a signaling molecule that governs tissue patterning by forming a concentration gradient across a developing tissue and providing cells with positional information that directs their differentiation. The concept is central to how embryos establish axes and organized structures from initially uniform cell populations.
Morphogens are typically produced from localized sources, diffuse through the tissue, and are gradually degraded or
Well-known examples include the Bicoid gradient in the Drosophila embryo, which helps establish anterior-posterior patterning, and
The morfogene concept was popularized in the late 1960s by Lewis Wolpert, who introduced the French flag
See also: morphogenesis, gradient signaling, developmental biology.