A novel homeobox gene, dharma, can induce the organizer in a non-cell-autonomous manner.
The formation of Spemann organizer is one of the most important steps in dorsoventral axis determination in vertebrate development. However, whether the organizer forms autonomously or is induced non-cell-autonomously is controversial. In this report we have isolated a novel zebrafish homeobox gene, dharma, capable of inducing the organizer ectopically. The expression of dharma was first detected in several blastomeres at one side of the margin soon after the mid-blastula transition and continued in the dorsal side of the yolk syncytial layer (YSL) under the embryonic shield, the zebrafish organizer, until the onset of gastrulation. Furthermore, dharma expressed in the YSL induced the organizer in a non-cell-autonomous manner. These results provided the first identification of a zygotic gene to be implicated in the formation of an organizer-inducing center.
Division of Molecular Oncology, Biomedical Research Center, Osaka University Medical School; Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Y
Y
Yamanaka
T
T
Mizuno
Y
Y
Sasai
M
M
Kishi
H
H
Takeda
C H
CH
Kim
M
M
Hibi
T
T
Hirano
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004627:Embryonic Induction / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C100866:cer1 protein, Xenopus; C113874:dharma protein, zebrafish