Subtle cerebellar phenotype in mice homozygous for a targeted deletion of the En-2 homeobox.
The two mouse genes, En-1 and En-2, that are homologs of the Drosophila segmentation gene engrailed, show overlapping spatially restricted patterns of expression in the neural tube during embryogenesis, suggestive of a role in regional specification. Mice homozygous for a targeted mutation that deletes the homeobox were viable and showed no obvious defects in embryonic development. This may be due to functional redundancy of En-2 and the related En-1 gene product during embryogenesis. Consistent with this hypothesis, the mutant mice showed abnormal foliation in the adult cerebellum, where En-2, and not En-1, is normally expressed.
Joyner
A L
AL
Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Herrup
K
K
Auerbach
B A
BA
Davis
C A
CA
Rossant
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst; D002460:Cell Line; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology; D002678:Chimera; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D005260:Female; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology; D010641:Phenotype