title: Cloning and spatiotemporal expression of RIC-8 in Xenopus embryogenesis.
abstract: RIC-8 is a highly conserved protein that promotes G protein signaling as it acts as a Guanine nucleotide Exchanging Factor (GEF) over a subset of Gα subunits. In invertebrates, RIC-8 plays crucial roles in synaptic transmission as well as in asymmetric cell division. As a first step to address further studies on RIC-8 function in vertebrates, here we have cloned a ric-8 gene from Xenopus tropicalis (xtric-8) and determined its spatiotemporal expression pattern throughout embryogenesis. The xtric-8 transcript is expressed maternally and zygotically and, as development proceeds, it shows a dynamic expression pattern. At early developmental stages, xtric-8 is expressed in the animal hemisphere, whereas its expression is later restricted to neural tissues, such as the neural tube and the brain, as well as in the eye and neural crest-derived structures, including those of the craniofacial region. Together, our findings suggest that RIC-8 functions are related to the development of the nervous system.
authors: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla, Concepción, Chile.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Maldonado-Agurto
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Toro
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Fuentealba
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Arriagada
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Campos
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Albistur
authors: J P
authors: JP
authors: Henriquez
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Olate
authors: M V
authors: MV
authors: Hinrichs
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Torrejón
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D060049:Asymmetric Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D054259:Neural Tube / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000235:genetics; D014018:Tissue Distribution / Q000235:genetics; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; C525833:Ric-8 protein, Xenopus; D029867:Xenopus Proteins