Borrowing thy neighbour's genetics: neural induction and a Brachyury mutant in Xenopus.
A recent article by Rao exemplifies a number of new trends in developmental biology, both of technical strategy and approach to the problem of neural induction. Rao introduced into frog embryos a mutant form of a mesodermal gene, Brachyury, and caused ectopic neural differentiation. This essay traces the route from the original Brachyury mutation in mouse to the most likely conclusion of Rao's experiments--suggested previously--that neural fate is a default pathway.
Green
J B
JB
Miller Institute Fellow Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94122.
D000818:Animals; D004627:Embryonic Induction / Q000235:genetics*; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D009154:Mutation; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*