PUBLICATION

Ectopic Hoxa2 induction after neural crest migration results in homeosis of jaw elements in Xenopus

Authors
Pasqualetti, M., Ori, M., Nardi, I., and Rijli, F.M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-040205-6
Date
2000
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   127(24): 5367-5378 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Hox, hindbrain, cranial neural crest, craniofacial development, jaw evolution, inducible gain-of-function, Xenopus
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Biological Evolution
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA Primers/genetics
  • DNA, Complementary/genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Genes, Homeobox*
  • Homeodomain Proteins/genetics*
  • Jaw/embryology
  • Jaw/metabolism
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Muscle, Skeletal/embryology
  • Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism
  • Neural Crest/embryology*
  • Neural Crest/metabolism
  • Rhombencephalon/embryology
  • Rhombencephalon/metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transfection
  • Xenopus/embryology*
  • Xenopus/genetics*
  • Xenopus Proteins*
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins*
PubMed
11076758 Full text @ Development
Abstract
Hox genes are required to pattern neural crest (NC) derived craniofacial and visceral skeletal structures. However, the temporal requirement of Hox patterning activity is not known. Here, we use an inducible system to establish Hoxa2 activity at distinct NC migratory stages in Xenopus embryos. We uncover stage-specific effects of Hoxa2 gain-of-function suggesting a multistep patterning process for hindbrain NC. Most interestingly, we show that Hoxa2 induction at postmigratory stages results in mirror image homeotic transformation of a subset of jaw elements, normally devoid of Hox expression, towards hyoid morphology. This is the reverse phenotype to that observed in the Hoxa2 knockout. These data demonstrate that the skeletal pattern of rhombomeric mandibular crest is not committed before migration and further implicate Hoxa2 as a true selector of hyoid fate. Moreover, the demonstration that the expression of Hoxa2 alone is sufficient to transform the upper jaw and its joint selectively may have implications for the evolution of jaws.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping