Coupling of cell proliferation to the segmentation clock promotes robust somite scaling.

In mouse embryo tails, coupling between cell-cycle progression and the oscillating segmentation clock is linked to robust somite scaling, likely via periodic cyclin D1 regulation.

• Why it matters: Tissue growth must stay coordinated with patterning during vertebrate somitogenesis, but how the segmentation clock and proliferation jointly preserve correct proportions is unclear.
• What they did: The study used long-term single-cell tracking and microfluidic entrainment in mouse embryo tails to test whether cell-cycle timing aligns with the oscillating PSM clock, and used a minimal model to assess effects on PSM growth and morphogen dilution.
• The result: Clock disruption increased Mesp2 patterning irregularity, while blocking proliferation changed morphogen profiles and somite scaling; human in vitro somitogenesis models showed a comparable clock–cell-cycle phase relationship.

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