title: Cloning and expression of a novel zinc finger gene, Fez, transcribed in the forebrain of Xenopus and mouse embryos.
abstract: We have identified and cloned a novel zinc finger gene, Fez (forebrain embryonic zinc-finger), as a potential downstream determinant of anterior neural plate formation in Xenopus. Fez was isolated as one of several neural-specific genes that was induced by the neuralizing factor, noggin (Smith and Harland, 1992. Cell 70, 829-840), in uncommitted ectoderm. Fez has an open reading frame comprising 466 amino acids, and contains six C(2)H(2) type zinc finger domains, which are highly conserved among Drosophila, zebrafish, mouse, and human. In Xenopus, the expression of Fez begins at stage 12 in the rostral end of the neural plate, and by stage 45, it is localized to several telencephalic regions, including the olfactory bulbs, nervus terminalis, and ventricular zone. The mouse homologue of Fez is similarly expressed in the mouse forebrain by embryonic day 11.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuo-Takasaki
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Beanan
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Sargent
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000196:embryology; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C485861:FEZF1 protein, Xenopus; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C412364:Zfp312 protein, mouse; C418489:fezf2 protein, zebrafish