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Ray L, Medeiros D. Linking Vertebrate Gene Duplications to the New Head Hypothesis. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1213. [PMID: 37759612 PMCID: PMC10525774 DOI: 10.3390/biology12091213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Vertebrates have diverse morphologies and various anatomical novelties that set them apart from their closest invertebrate relatives. A conspicuous head housing a large brain, paired sense organs, and protected by a skeleton of cartilage and bone is unique to vertebrates and is a defining feature of this taxon. Gans and Northcutt (1980s) proposed that the evolution of this "new head" was dependent on two key developmental innovations: neural crest cells (NCCs) and ectodermal placodes. NCCs are migratory embryonic cells that form bone, cartilage, and neurons in the new head. Based on genome size, Ohno (1970s) proposed a separate hypothesis, stating that vertebrate genome content was quadrupled via two rounds (2R) of whole genome duplications (WGDs), and the surplus of genetic material potentiated vertebrate morphological diversification. While both hypotheses offer explanations for vertebrate success, it is unclear if, and how, the "new head" and "2R" hypotheses are linked. Here, we consider both hypotheses and evaluate the experimental evidence connecting the two. Overall, evidence suggests that while the origin of the NC GRN predates the vertebrate WGDs, these genomic events may have potentiated the evolution of distinct genetic subnetworks in different neural crest subpopulations. We describe the general composition of the NC GRN and posit that its increased developmental modularity facilitated the independent evolution of NC derivatives and the diversification of the vertebrate head skeleton. Lastly, we discuss experimental strategies needed to test whether gene duplications drove the diversification of neural crest derivatives and the "new head".
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Ray
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Daniel Medeiros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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Boesmans W, Nash A, Tasnády KR, Yang W, Stamp LA, Hao MM. Development, Diversity, and Neurogenic Capacity of Enteric Glia. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:775102. [PMID: 35111752 PMCID: PMC8801887 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.775102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Enteric glia are a fascinating population of cells. Initially identified in the gut wall as the "support" cells of the enteric nervous system, studies over the past 20 years have unveiled a vast array of functions carried out by enteric glia. They mediate enteric nervous system signalling and play a vital role in the local regulation of gut functions. Enteric glial cells interact with other gastrointestinal cell types such as those of the epithelium and immune system to preserve homeostasis, and are perceptive to luminal content. Their functional versatility and phenotypic heterogeneity are mirrored by an extensive level of plasticity, illustrated by their reactivity in conditions associated with enteric nervous system dysfunction and disease. As one of the hallmarks of their plasticity and extending their operative relationship with enteric neurons, enteric glia also display neurogenic potential. In this review, we focus on the development of enteric glial cells, and the mechanisms behind their heterogeneity in the adult gut. In addition, we discuss what is currently known about the role of enteric glia as neural precursors in the enteric nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Werend Boesmans
- Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED), Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, GROW-School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Amelia Nash
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Kinga R. Tasnády
- Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED), Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, GROW-School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Wendy Yang
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Taiwan
| | - Lincon A. Stamp
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marlene M. Hao
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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3
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Sittewelle M, Monsoro-Burq AH. AKT signaling displays multifaceted functions in neural crest development. Dev Biol 2018; 444 Suppl 1:S144-S155. [PMID: 29859890 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2018] [Revised: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
AKT signaling is an essential intracellular pathway controlling cell homeostasis, cell proliferation and survival, as well as cell migration and differentiation in adults. Alterations impacting the AKT pathway are involved in many pathological conditions in human disease. Similarly, during development, multiple transmembrane molecules, such as FGF receptors, PDGF receptors or integrins, activate AKT to control embryonic cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and also cell fate decisions. While many studies in mouse embryos have clearly implicated AKT signaling in the differentiation of several neural crest derivatives, information on AKT functions during the earliest steps of neural crest development had remained relatively scarce until recently. However, recent studies on known and novel regulators of AKT signaling demonstrate that this pathway plays critical roles throughout the development of neural crest progenitors. Non-mammalian models such as fish and frog embryos have been instrumental to our understanding of AKT functions in neural crest development, both in neural crest progenitors and in the neighboring tissues. This review combines current knowledge acquired from all these different vertebrate animal models to describe the various roles of AKT signaling related to neural crest development in vivo. We first describe the importance of AKT signaling in patterning the tissues involved in neural crest induction, namely the dorsal mesoderm and the ectoderm. We then focus on AKT signaling functions in neural crest migration and differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Méghane Sittewelle
- Univ. Paris Sud, Université Paris Saclay, CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, Centre Universitaire, 15, rue Georges Clémenceau, F-91405 Orsay, France; Institut Curie Research Division, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Anne H Monsoro-Burq
- Univ. Paris Sud, Université Paris Saclay, CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, Centre Universitaire, 15, rue Georges Clémenceau, F-91405 Orsay, France; Institut Curie Research Division, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR 3347, INSERM U1021, F-91405 Orsay, France; Institut Universitaire de France, F-75005 Paris, France.
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Fish JL. Developmental mechanisms underlying variation in craniofacial disease and evolution. Dev Biol 2015; 415:188-197. [PMID: 26724698 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2015.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 12/17/2015] [Accepted: 12/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Craniofacial disease phenotypes exhibit significant variation in penetrance and severity. Although many genetic contributions to phenotypic variation have been identified, genotype-phenotype correlations remain imprecise. Recent work in evolutionary developmental biology has exposed intriguing developmental mechanisms that potentially explain incongruities in genotype-phenotype relationships. This review focuses on two observations from work in comparative and experimental animal model systems that highlight how development structures variation. First, multiple genetic inputs converge on relatively few developmental processes. Investigation of when and how variation in developmental processes occurs may therefore help predict potential genetic interactions and phenotypic outcomes. Second, genetic mutation is typically associated with an increase in phenotypic variance. Several models outlining developmental mechanisms underlying mutational increases in phenotypic variance are discussed using Satb2-mediated variation in jaw size as an example. These data highlight development as a critical mediator of genotype-phenotype correlations. Future research in evolutionary developmental biology focusing on tissue-level processes may help elucidate the "black box" between genotype and phenotype, potentially leading to novel treatment, earlier diagnoses, and better clinical consultations for individuals affected by craniofacial anomalies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Fish
- University of Massachusetts Lowell, Department of Biological Sciences, 198 Riverside Street, Olsen Hall, Room 619, Lowell, MA 01854, United States.
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Barriga EH, Trainor PA, Bronner M, Mayor R. Animal models for studying neural crest development: is the mouse different? Development 2015; 142:1555-60. [PMID: 25922521 DOI: 10.1242/dev.121590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The neural crest is a uniquely vertebrate cell type and has been well studied in a number of model systems. Zebrafish, Xenopus and chick embryos largely show consistent requirements for specific genes in early steps of neural crest development. By contrast, knockouts of homologous genes in the mouse often do not exhibit comparable early neural crest phenotypes. In this Spotlight article, we discuss these species-specific differences, suggest possible explanations for the divergent phenotypes in mouse and urge the community to consider these issues and the need for further research in complementary systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias H Barriga
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul A Trainor
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Centre, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
| | - Marianne Bronner
- Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Roberto Mayor
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Richtsmeier JT, Flaherty K. Hand in glove: brain and skull in development and dysmorphogenesis. Acta Neuropathol 2013; 125:469-89. [PMID: 23525521 PMCID: PMC3652528 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-013-1104-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2012] [Revised: 02/28/2013] [Accepted: 03/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The brain originates relatively early in development from differentiated ectoderm that forms a hollow tube and takes on an exceedingly complex shape with development. The skull is made up of individual bony elements that form from neural crest- and mesoderm-derived mesenchyme that unite to provide support and protection for soft tissues and spaces of the head. The meninges provide a protective and permeable membrane between brain and skull. Across evolutionary and developmental time, dynamic changes in brain and skull shape track one another so that their integration is evidenced in two structures that fit soundly regardless of changes in biomechanical and physiologic functions. Evidence for this tight correspondence is also seen in diseases of the craniofacial complex that are often classified as diseases of the skull (e.g., craniosynostosis) or diseases of the brain (e.g., holoprosencephaly) even when both tissues are affected. Our review suggests a model that links brain and skull morphogenesis through coordinated integration of signaling pathways (e.g., FGF, TGFβ, Wnt) via processes that are not currently understood, perhaps involving the meninges. Differences in the earliest signaling of biological structure establish divergent designs that will be enhanced during morphogenesis. Signaling systems that pattern the developing brain are also active in patterning required for growth and assembly of the skull and some members of these signaling families have been indicated as causal for craniofacial diseases. Because cells of early brain and skull are sensitive to similar signaling families, variation in the strength or timing of signals or shifts in patterning boundaries that affect one system (neural or skull) could also affect the other system and appropriate co-adjustments in development would be made. Interactions of these signaling systems and of the tissues that they pattern are fundamental to the consistent but labile functional and structural association of brain and skull conserved over evolutionary time obvious in the study of development and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan T Richtsmeier
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Green SA, Bronner ME. Gene duplications and the early evolution of neural crest development. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2012; 24:95-100. [PMID: 23287633 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2012.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Neural crest cells are an important cell type present in all vertebrates, and elaboration of the neural crest is thought to have been a key factor in their evolutionary success. Genomic comparisons suggest there were two major genome duplications in early vertebrate evolution, raising the possibility that evolution of neural crest was facilitated by gene duplications. Here, we review the process of early neural crest formation and its underlying gene regulatory network (GRN) as well as the evolution of important neural crest derivatives. In this context, we assess the likelihood that gene and genome duplications capacitated neural crest evolution, particularly in light of novel data arising from invertebrate chordates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen A Green
- Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States
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Theveneau E, Mayor R. Neural crest delamination and migration: from epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition to collective cell migration. Dev Biol 2012; 366:34-54. [PMID: 22261150 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2011.12.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 352] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2011] [Accepted: 12/26/2011] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
After induction and specification in the ectoderm, at the border of the neural plate, the neural crest (NC) population leaves its original territory through a delamination process. Soon afterwards, the NC cells migrate throughout the embryo and colonize a myriad of tissues and organs where they settle and differentiate. The delamination involves a partial or complete epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition (EMT) regulated by a complex network of transcription factors including several proto-oncogenes. Studying the relationship between these genes at the time of emigration, and their individual or collective impact on cell behavior, provides valuable information about their role in EMT in other contexts such as cancer metastasis. During migration, NC cells are exposed to large number of positive and negative regulators that control where they go by generating permissive and restricted areas and by modulating their motility and directionality. In addition, as most NC cells migrate collectively, cell-cell interactions play a crucial role in polarizing the cells and interpreting external cues. Cell cooperation eventually generates an overall polarity to the population, leading to directional collective cell migration. This review will summarize our current knowledge on delamination, EMT and migration of NC cells using key examples from chicken, Xenopus, zebrafish and mouse embryos. Given the similarities between neural crest migration and cancer invasion, these cells may represent a useful model for understanding the mechanisms of metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Theveneau
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, UK
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Smith J, Morgan JR, Zottoli SJ, Smith PJ, Buxbaum JD, Bloom OE. Regeneration in the era of functional genomics and gene network analysis. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2011; 221:18-34. [PMID: 21876108 PMCID: PMC4109899 DOI: 10.1086/bblv221n1p18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
What gives an organism the ability to regrow tissues and to recover function where another organism fails is the central problem of regenerative biology. The challenge is to describe the mechanisms of regeneration at the molecular level, delivering detailed insights into the many components that are cross-regulated. In other words, a broad, yet deep dissection of the system-wide network of molecular interactions is needed. Functional genomics has been used to elucidate gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in developing tissues, which, like regeneration, are complex systems. Therefore, we reason that the GRN approach, aided by next generation technologies, can also be applied to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the complex functions of regeneration. We ask what characteristics a model system must have to support a GRN analysis. Our discussion focuses on regeneration in the central nervous system, where loss of function has particularly devastating consequences for an organism. We examine a cohort of cells conserved across all vertebrates, the reticulospinal (RS) neurons, which lend themselves well to experimental manipulations. In the lamprey, a jawless vertebrate, there are giant RS neurons whose large size and ability to regenerate make them particularly suited for a GRN analysis. Adding to their value, a distinct subset of lamprey RS neurons reproducibly fail to regenerate, presenting an opportunity for side-by-side comparison of gene networks that promote or inhibit regeneration. Thus, determining the GRN for regeneration in RS neurons will provide a mechanistic understanding of the fundamental cues that lead to success or failure to regenerate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Smith
- The Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering and The Josephine Bay Pau Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, The Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
- Co-corresponding authors: and obloom@ nshs.edu
| | - Jennifer R. Morgan
- Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | - Steven J. Zottoli
- Department of Biology, 59 Lab Campus Drive, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267 and Cellular Dynamics Program, The Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02453
| | - Peter J. Smith
- The Biocurrents Research Center, Cellular Dynamics Program, The Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
| | - Joseph D. Buxbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and the Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L Levy Plc, Box 1668, New York, New York 10029
| | - Ona E. Bloom
- The Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Disease, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, 350 Community Drive, Manhasset, New York 11030
- Co-corresponding authors: and obloom@ nshs.edu
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Betancur P, Bronner-Fraser M, Sauka-Spengler T. Assembling neural crest regulatory circuits into a gene regulatory network. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2010; 26:581-603. [PMID: 19575671 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.cellbio.042308.113245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The neural crest is a multipotent stem cell–like population that gives rise to a wide range of derivatives in the vertebrate embryo including elements of the craniofacial skeleton and peripheral nervous system as well as melanocytes. The neural crest forms in a series of regulatory steps that include induction and specification of the prospective neural crest territory–neural plate border, specification of bona fide neural crest progenitors, and differentiation into diverse derivatives. These individual processes during neural crest ontogeny are controlled by regulatory circuits that can be assembled into a hierarchical gene regulatory network (GRN). Here we present an overview of the GRN that orchestrates the formation of cranial neural crest cells. Formulation of this network relies on information largely inferred from gene perturbation studies performed in several vertebrate model organisms. Our representation of the cranial neural crest GRN also includes information about direct regulatory interactions obtained from the cis-regulatory analyses performed to date, which increases the resolution of the architectural circuitry within the network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Betancur
- Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
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Klymkowsky MW, Rossi CC, Artinger KB. Mechanisms driving neural crest induction and migration in the zebrafish and Xenopus laevis. Cell Adh Migr 2010; 4:595-608. [PMID: 20962584 PMCID: PMC3011258 DOI: 10.4161/cam.4.4.12962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2010] [Accepted: 07/09/2010] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural crest is an evolutionary adaptation, with roots in the formation of mesoderm. Modification of neural crest behavior has been is critical for the evolutionary diversification of the vertebrates and defects in neural crest underlie a range of human birth defects. There has been a tremendous increase in our knowledge of the molecular, cellular, and inductive interactions that converge on defining the neural crest and determining its behavior. While there is a temptation to look for simple models to explain neural crest behavior, the reality is that the system is complex in its circuitry. In this review, our goal is to identify the broad features of neural crest origins (developmentally) and migration (cellularly) using data from the zebrafish (teleost) and Xenopus laevis (tetrapod amphibian) in order to illuminate where general mechanisms appear to be in play, and equally importantly, where disparities in experimental results suggest areas of profitable study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael W Klymkowsky
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder, CO USA
| | - Christy Cortez Rossi
- Department of Craniofacial Biology; University of Colorado Denver; School of Dental Medicine; Aurora, CO USA
| | - Kristin Bruk Artinger
- Department of Craniofacial Biology; University of Colorado Denver; School of Dental Medicine; Aurora, CO USA
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A gene regulatory network directed by zebrafish No tail accounts for its roles in mesoderm formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 106:3829-34. [PMID: 19225104 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0808382106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Using chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with genomic microarrays we have identified targets of No tail (Ntl), a zebrafish Brachyury ortholog that plays a central role in mesoderm formation. We show that Ntl regulates a downstream network of other transcription factors and identify an in vivo Ntl binding site that resembles the consensus T-box binding site (TBS) previously identified by in vitro studies. We show that the notochord-expressed gene floating head (flh) is a direct transcriptional target of Ntl and that a combination of TBSs in the flh upstream region are required for Ntl-directed expression. Using our genome-scale data we have assembled a preliminary gene regulatory network that begins to describe mesoderm formation and patterning in the early zebrafish embryo.
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