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XB-ART-18148
Development 1996 Jun 01;1226:1711-21. doi: 10.1242/dev.122.6.1711.
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Regulation of dorsal-ventral patterning: the ventralizing effects of the novel Xenopus homeobox gene Vox.

Schmidt JE , von Dassow G , Kimelman D .


Abstract
The formation of the dorsal-ventral axis in Xenopus laevis is elicited by a signaling cascade on the dorsal side of the embryo initiated by cortical rotation. These early developmental events impart an initial axial polarity to the embryo. By the time gastrulation occurs, the embryo has established opposing dorsal and ventral regulatory regions. Through a dynamic process, the embryo acquires a definitive pattern that reflects the distribution of future cell fates. Here we present a novel homeobox gene, Vox, whose expression reflects this dynamic process. Vox is first expressed throughout the embryo and subsequently eliminated from the notochord and neural plate. Ectopic expression of Vox demonstrates that the normal function of this gene may be to suppress dorsal genes such as Xnot and chordin, and induce ventral and paraxial genes such as Bmp-4 and MyoD. Ectopic expression of BMP-4 ventralizes embryos and positively regulates the expression of Vox, suggesting that these genes are components of a reciprocal regulatory network.

PubMed ID: 8674411
Article link: Development


Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: bmp4 chrd evx1 gbx2.2 gsc hmx3 myod1 not otx2 sia1 tbx2 tbxt ventx2 wnt8a


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