Abstract
We report on the temporal and spatial expression pattern of the Xenopus laevis hairy2b (Xhairy2b) transcription factor. Xhairy2b transcripts are present maternally, and expressed throughout the prospective ectoderm prior to the gastrula stage. During gastrulation, Xhairy2b expression is restricted to the deep layer of the Spemann organizer and three distinct regions in the prospective neuroectoderm, neural plate border, notoplate and anterior neural plate. At later stages, Xhairy2b expression is localized to prechordal plate, presomitic mesoderm, neural tube, neural crest derivatives and several tissue territories of the central nervous system. The analyses of Xhairy2b and several other hairy-related genes suggest potential roles for Xhairy2b in the formation of boundaries in neural tissue territories.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Aybor MJ, Mayor R (2002) Early induction of neural crest cells: lessons learned from frog, fish and chick. Curr Opin Genet Dev 12:452–458
Blitz IL, Cho KWY (1995) Anterior neurectoderm is progressively induced during gastrulation: the role of the Xenopus homeobox gene orthodenticle. Development 121:993–1004
Brown LN, Sattler CA, Paddock SW, Carroll SB (1995) Hairy and Emc negatively regulate morphogenetic furrow progression in the Drosophila eye. Cell 80:879–887
Davis LD, Turner DL, Evans LM, Kirschner MW (2001) Molecular targets of vertebrate segmentation: two mechanisms control segmental expression of Xenopus hairy2 during somite formation. Dev Cell 1:553–565
Eagleson GW, Harris WA (1990) Mapping of the presumptive brain regions in the neural plate of Xenopus laevis. J Neurobiol 21:427–440
Essex LJ, Mayor R, Sargent MG (1993) Expression of Xenopus Snail in mesoderm and prospective neural fold ectoderm. Dev Dyn 198:108–122
Graf JD, Kobel HR (1991) Genetics of Xenopus laevis. Methods Cell Biol 36:19–34
Mayor R, Essex LJ, Bennett MF, Sargent MG (1993) Distinct elements of the xsna promoter are required for mesodermal and ectodermal expression. Development 119:661–671
Mayor R, Morgan R, Sargent MG (1995) Induction of the prospective neural crest of Xenopus. Development 121:767–777
Nieuwkoop PD, Faber J (1994) Normal table of Xenopus laevis (Daudin). North-Holland, Amsterdam
Pannese M, Polo C, Andreazzoli M, Vignali R, Kablar B, Barsacchi G, Boncinelli E (1995) The Xenopus homologue of Otx2 is a maternal homeobox gene that demarcates and specifies anterior body regions. Development 121:707–720
Shinga J, Itoh M, Shiokawa K, Taira S, Taira M (2001) Early patterning of the prospective midbrain-hindbrain boundary by the HES-related gene XHR1 in Xenopus embryos. Mech Dev 109:225–239
St Johnston D, Nüsslein-Volhard C (1992) The origin of pattern and polarity in the Drosophila embryo. Cell 68:201–219
Turner DL, Weintraub H (1994) Expression of achaete-scute homolog 3 in Xenopus embryos converts ectodermal cells to a neural fate. Genes Dev 8:1434–1447
Acknowledegments
The authors thank Dr. I. L. Blitz for his critical comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Edited by N. Satoh
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tsuji, S., Cho, K.W.Y. & Hashimoto, C. Expression pattern of a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Xhairy2b during Xenopus laevis development. Dev Genes Evol 213, 407–411 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-003-0338-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-003-0338-4