title: Lox6, a leech Dfd ortholog, is expressed in the central nervous system and in peripheral sensory structures.
abstract: Sequence analysis of a newly isolated Hirudo medicinalis cDNA containing an Antennapedia (Antp)-class homeobox suggests that the corresponding gene, Lox6, is an ortholog of the Drosophila Deformed (Dfd) gene. In situ hybridization of whole-mounted preparations shows that the major sites of Lox6 expression during embryogenesis are the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral sensory system. Lox6 mRNA can be detected in a subset of neurons in each ganglion from the subesophageal ganglion (RG2) to the most posterior ganglion, with the highest level of expression seen in RG3. Peripherally, Lox6 is expressed principally in the primordia of the sensillae and in the eyes. This pattern of expression of Lox6 suggests that one of its functions may be to contribute to the diversification of neuronal phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: V Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Macagno
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D007865:Leeches / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D017933:Peripheral Nervous System / Q000196:embryology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: C066676:Dfd protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C108885:Lox6 protein, Helobdella; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins