Expression of the genes siamois, engrailed-2, bmp4 and myf5 during Xenopus development in presence of the marine toxins okadaic acid and palytoxin.
The present investigation examines the effects of the marine toxins, okadaic acid (OA) and palytoxin (PTX), on some genes involved in the neural and muscular specification and patterning of Xenopus laevis. The RT-PCR analyses performed at different stages of embryonic and larval development (stages 11-47) demonstrated that both toxins induce an over-expression of the genes siamois and engrailed-2 and a different behaviour in bmp4 and myf5. Indeed, OA provoked a significant increase in bmp4 in the earliest stage (11) examined, a down-regulation from stages 12 to 17, and a renewed increase from the beginning of hatching onwards (stages 35-47). In contrast, myf5 was up-regulated in all stages up to 35. PTX induced an over-expression of both bmp4 and myf5 during the embryonic and early larval development stages. The results show that PTX induces an increase in expression levels in all tested genes, while the response to OA seems to be more stage-dependent, with the embryonic development stage more sensitive to the toxin than the larval stages.
Franchini
Antonella
A
Department of Animal Biology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via Campi 213/D, 41100 Modena, Italy.
Casarini
Livio
L
Malagoli
Davide
D
Ottaviani
Enzo
E
D000178:Acrylamides / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D050437:Genes, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D051787:Myogenic Regulatory Factor 5 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019319:Okadaic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis; D000099266:Engrailed 2 Protein; D000095702:Polyether Toxins
D000178:Acrylamides; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D003064:Cnidarian Venoms; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008387:Marine Toxins; D051787:Myogenic Regulatory Factor 5; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D019319:Okadaic Acid; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D000099266:Engrailed 2 Protein; C497419:Myf5 protein, Xenopus; C093133:SIA1 protein, Xenopus; C525812:bmp4 protein, Xenopus; C010272:palytoxin; D000095702:Polyether Toxins