title: Developmental expression of HpNanos, the Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus homologue of nanos.
abstract: The Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus homologue of nanos (HpNanos), that encodes a protein containing two CCHC zinc finger motifs, was isolated from a gastrula cDNA library. The accumulation of HpNanos mRNA during embryonic development and the spatial expression pattern are reported. Developmental northern blot analysis revealed that HpNanos mRNA markedly accumulated during the blastula stages, and then decreased in abundance at the mesenchyme blastula stage. The second phase of HpNanos mRNA expression occurred during gastrulation, after which the expression returned to a low level. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that the HpNanos was exclusively expressed in four to six small micromere-descendant cells at the blastula stage. The expression of HpNanos was restricted to the coelomic pouch, which gives rise to the mesoderm of the ventral surface of the adult rudiment, at the prism stage. These results suggest that HpNanos expression will be instrumental for future analyses of the function of small micromere-descendant cells and of the origin of germ cells during sea urchin development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Life Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitsunaga-Nakatsubo
authors.forename: Ikuya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hiroka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Naoaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akasaka
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000196:embryology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins