NSF Award
9207987
The aims of this proposal are to identify the genes that regulate formation of the anteroposterior (A/P) axis in the ectoderm of the frog, Xenopus laevis. The ectoderm gives rise to both neural tissues (including the brain and spinal cord) and to non-neural tissues (such as the cement- and hatching glands). These tissues are induced by signals arising from the mesoderm and by intraectodermal interactions. Previous results showed that the ectoderm acquired an A/P pattern many hours before terminal differentiation begins. Very little is known about the molecular basis for this patterning in any vertebrate. This information is crucial to understanding the early genetic events that regulate ectodermal patterning during vertebrate development. Two approaches to analyzing A/P ectodermal patterning will be taken. 1. The function of the gene Xhox.lab1 will be analyzed by misexpression and functional ablation. Xhox.lab1 is a novel homeodomain containing gene that is expressed in posterior ectoderm early during A/P patterning. 2. Other genes expressed soon after ectodermal induction will be isolated by subtractive hybridization between microdissected induced and uninduced ectoderm.
