title: Brachyury downstream notochord differentiation in the ascidian embryo.
abstract: The ascidian tadpole represents the most simplified chordate body plan. It contains a notochord composed of just 40 cells, but as in vertebrates Brachyury is essential for notochord differentiation. Here, we show that the misexpression of the Brachyury gene (Ci-Bra) of Ciona intestinalis is sufficient to transform endoderm into notochord. Subtractive hybridization screens were conducted to identify potential Brachyury target genes that are induced upon Ci-Bra misexpression. Of 501 independent cDNA clones that were surveyed, 38 were specifically expressed in notochord cells. These potential Ci-Bra downstream genes appear to encode a broad spectrum of divergent proteins associated with notochord formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erives
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Gregorio
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Zeller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Satoh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000196:embryology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004707:Endoderm / Q000502:physiology; D005326:Fetal Proteins; D015870:Gene Expression; D009672:Notochord / Q000196:embryology*; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000098908:Brachyury Protein
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005326:Fetal Proteins; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000098908:Brachyury Protein