Distinct enhancers regulate neural expression of Pax7.
The murine Pax7 gene has emerged as an important regulator of neural and somite development. It is expressed in discrete domains of the central nervous system, including cranial neural crest, dorsal neural tube, and mesencephalic tectum, pretectum, and base, and at the midbrain-hindbrain boundary. It is also expressed by nasal epithelia and neural crest-derived facial structures. Here, we define the 5' end of the cDNA for murine Pax7 and identify the transcriptional start site. We clarify gene structure and the murine coding sequence, and we define regions of noncoding sequence that are conserved between mice and humans. Using transgenic approaches, we identify upstream and intronic regulatory elements that confer distinct domains of neural expression in the cranial neural crest, facial mesenchyme, mesencephalon, and pontine reticular nucleus. These enhancer regions will be useful for gene expression studies and for the identification of upstream regulators of Pax7 expression.
Lang
Deborah
D
Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 954 BRB II, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Brown
Christopher B
CB
Milewski
Rita
R
Jiang
Yue Qin
YQ
Lu
Min Min
MM
Epstein
Jonathan A
JA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D024363:Transcription Initiation Site
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C402669:PaxA protein, Pasteurella aerogenes