title: Differential mesodermal expression of two amphioxus MyoD family members (AmphiMRF1 and AmphiMRF2).
abstract: To explore the evolution of myogenic regulatory factors in chordates, we isolated two MyoD family genes (AmphiMRF1 and AmphiMRF2) from amphioxus. AmphiMRF1 is first expressed at the late gastrula in the paraxial mesoderm. As the first somites form, expression is restricted to their myotomal region. In the early larva, expression is strongest in the most anterior and most posterior somites. AmphiMRF2 transcription begins at mid/late gastrula in the paraxial mesoderm, but never spreads into its most anterior region. Through much of the neurula stage, AmphiMRF2 expression is strong in the myotomal region of all somites except the most anterior pair; by late neurula expression is downregulated except in the most posterior somites forming just rostral to the tail bud. These two MRF genes of amphioxus have partly overlapping patterns of mesodermal expression and evidently duplicated independent of the diversification of the vertebrate MRF family.
authors.affiliation: Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UMR 5665 CNRS, 46, Allée d'Italie, 69364, Lyon Cedex 07, France.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meulemans
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bronner-Fraser
authors.forename: Linda Z
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Holland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002816:Chordata, Nonvertebrate / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000378:metabolism*; D005810:Multigene Family; D017570:MyoD Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D017570:MyoD Protein