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Mouse Dac, a novel nuclear factor with homology to Drosophila dachshund shows a dynamic expression in the neural crest, the eye, the neocortex, and the limb bud
Author(s) -
Caubit Xavier,
Thangarajah Rajikala,
Theil Thomas,
Wirth Jutta,
Nothwang HansGerd,
Rüther Ulrich,
Krauss Stefan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0177(199901)214:1<66::aid-dvdy7>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - biology , limb bud , mesenchyme , apical ectodermal ridge , neural crest , optic vesicle , neural tube , zone of polarizing activity , anatomy , mesoderm , limb development , neocortex , sonic hedgehog , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , embryo , gene , eye development , embryonic stem cell , phenotype , neuroscience
Dac is a novel nuclear factor in mouse and humans that shares homology with Drosophila dachshund (dac). Alignment with available sequences defines a conserved box of 117 amino acids that shares weak homology with the proto‐oncogene Ski and Sno. Dac expression is found in various neuroectodermal and mesenchymal tissues. At early developmental stages Dac is expressed in lateral mesoderm and in neural crest cells. In the neural plate/tube Dac expression is initially seen in the prosencephalon and gets gradually restricted to the presumptive neocortex and the distal portion of the outgrowing optic vesicle. Furthermore, Dac transcripts are detected in the mesenchyme underlying the Apical Ectodermal Ridge (AER) of the extending limb bud, the dorsal root ganglia and chain ganglia, and the mesenchyme of the growing genitalia. Dac expression in the Gli 3 mutant extra toes (Xt/Xt) shows little difference compared to the expression in wild‐type limb buds. In contrast, a significant expansion of Dac expression are observed in the anterior mesenchyme of the limb buds of hemimelic extra toes ( Hx/+ ) mice. FISH analysis reveals that human DAC maps to chromosome 13q22.3–23 and further fine‐mapping defined a position of the DAC gene at 54cM or 13q21.1, a locus that associates with mental retardation and skeletal abnormalities. Dev Dyn 1999;214:66–80. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.