Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Publication Title

Genesis

Volume

47

Issue

1

First Page

19

Keywords

Xenopus laevis, Arx2, homeobox, telencephalon, embryogenesis, neural development, morpholino, XSLAG, lissencephaly, evolution

Last Page

31

Abstract

The aristaless-related gene, Arx, plays a fundamental role in patterning the brain in humans and mice. Arx mutants exhibit lissencephaly among other anomalies. We have cloned a Xenopus aristaless homolog that appears to define specific regions of the developing forebrain. xArx2 is transcribed in blastula through neurula stages, and comes to be restricted to the ventra and lateral telencephalon, lateral diencephalon, neural floor plate of the anterior spinal cord, and somites. In this respect, Arx2 expresses in regions similar to Arx with the exception of the somites. Overexpression enlarges the telencephalon, and interference by means of antisense morpholino-mediated translation knockdown reduces growth of this area. Overexpression and inhibition studies demonstrate that misregulation of xArx2 imposes dire consequences upon patterns of differentiation not only in the forebrain where the gene normally expresses, but also in more caudal brain territories and derivatives as well. This suggests that evolutionary changes that expanded Arx-expression from ventral to dorsal prosencephalon might be one of the determinants that marked development and expansion of the telencephalon. genesis 47:19-31, 2009. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

DOI

10.1002/dvg.20449

Comments

This is the accepted version of the following article: xArx2: An Aristaless Homolog That Regulates Brain Regionalization During Development in Xenopus laevis , which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dvg.20449

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