The team found that a protein called Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is responsible for creating a special environment in the developing embryo that allows cells to adopt a pointy shape.
Shh is best known for its role in guiding the development of the brain and spinal cord, but the team's research shows that it also has a crucial role in determining the shape of other body parts.
When studying zebrafish embryos, the scientists found that Shh is expressed in a high concentration at the tip of the developing fin bud. This creates a zone of high Shh activity, which signals to the cells to adopt a pointy shape.
Furthermore, the researchers discovered that this mechanism is conserved across species, indicating that it is likely to be responsible for the formation of pointy body parts in all animals.
This finding could have major implications for understanding how animals evolve and adapt to their environment, as well as the development of new medical treatments for a wide range of conditions, such as tooth and nail disorders.
