PUBLICATION
Analyses of lamprey meis genes reveals that conserved inputs from hox, Meis and Pbx proteins control their expression in the hindbrain and neural tube
- Authors
- Parker, H.J., De Kumar, B., Pushel, I., Bronner, M.E., Krumlauf, R.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-210728-38
- Date
- 2021
- Source
- Developmental Biology 479: 61-76 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Bronner-Fraser, Marianne, Krumlauf, Robb, Parker, Hugo
- Keywords
- Gene regulatory networks, Head development, Hindbrain segmentation, Hox genes, Lamprey, Meis genes, Neural crest cells, Vertebrate evolution, cis-Regulatory elements
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Binding Sites
- Body Patterning/genetics
- Conserved Sequence
- Enhancer Elements, Genetic
- Gene Expression/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics
- Genes, Homeobox/genetics
- Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism
- Lampreys/genetics*
- Lampreys/metabolism
- Myeloid Ecotropic Viral Integration Site 1 Protein/genetics
- Myeloid Ecotropic Viral Integration Site 1 Protein/metabolism
- Neural Crest/metabolism
- Neural Tube/embryology*
- Neural Tube/metabolism
- Pre-B-Cell Leukemia Transcription Factor 1/genetics
- Pre-B-Cell Leukemia Transcription Factor 1/metabolism
- Rhombencephalon/embryology*
- Rhombencephalon/metabolism
- Transcription Factors/metabolism
- PubMed
- 34310923 Full text @ Dev. Biol.
Citation
Parker, H.J., De Kumar, B., Pushel, I., Bronner, M.E., Krumlauf, R. (2021) Analyses of lamprey meis genes reveals that conserved inputs from hox, Meis and Pbx proteins control their expression in the hindbrain and neural tube. Developmental Biology. 479:61-76.
Abstract
Meis genes are known to play important roles in the hindbrain and neural crest cells of jawed vertebrates. To explore the roles of Meis genes in head development during evolution of vertebrates, we have identified four meis genes in the Sea Lamprey genome and characterized their patterns of expression and regulation, with a focus on the hindbrain and pharynx. Each of the lamprey meis genes displays temporally and spatially dynamic patterns of expression, some of which are coupled to rhombomeric domains in the developing hindbrain and select pharyngeal arches. Studies of Meis loci in mouse and zebrafish have identified enhancers that are bound by Hox and TALE (Meis and Pbx) proteins, implicating these factors in the direct regulation of Meis expression. We examined the lamprey meis loci and identified a series of cis-elements conserved between lamprey and jawed vertebrate meis genes. In transgenic reporter assays we demonstrated that these elements act as neural enhancers in lamprey embryos, directing reporter expression in appropriate domains when compared to expression of their associated endogenous meis gene. Sequence alignments reveal that these conserved elements are in similar relative positions of the meis loci and contain a series of consensus binding motifs for Hox and TALE proteins. This suggests that ancient Hox and TALE-responsive enhancers regulated expression of ancestral vertebrate meis genes in segmental domains in the hindbrain and have been retained in the meis loci during vertebrate evolution. The presence of conserved Meis, Pbx and Hox binding sites in these lamprey enhancers links Hox and TALE factors to regulation of lamprey meis genes in the developing hindbrain, indicating a deep ancestry for these regulatory interactions prior to the divergence of jawed and jawless vertebrates.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping