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Identification of an enhancer region in the mouse ephA8 locus directing expression to the anterior region of the dorsal mesencephalon
Author(s) -
Koo Jashin,
Shim Sungbo,
Gu Changkyu,
Yoo Ookjoon,
Park Soochul
Publication year - 2003
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/dvdy.10253
Subject(s) - biology , enhancer , regulatory sequence , midbrain , gene , genetics , coding region , locus (genetics) , ephrin , erythropoietin producing hepatocellular (eph) receptor , genetically modified mouse , gene expression , microbiology and biotechnology , transgene , receptor , neuroscience , central nervous system , receptor tyrosine kinase
Eph receptors and ephrins are dynamically expressed in a wide range of regions of the vertebrate during embryogenesis. The dorsal mesencephalon appears to be segmented into two broad regions demarcated by the mutually exclusive expression of EphA receptors and ephrinA ligands. It is of considerable interest to elucidate how these expression domains are established in the development of the mesencephalon. In this study, we used a transgenic approach to define the cis‐acting DNA regulatory elements involved in the anterior mesencephalon‐specific expression of the mouse ephA8 gene. Our analyses of the temporal and spatial expression patterns of various ephA8 / lacZ gene fusions in transgenic mice revealed that the 10‐kb genomic DNA 5′ immediately upstream of the ephA8 coding sequence is capable of directing lacZ expression in an ephA8 ‐specific manner. Further deletion analyses of the ephA8 genomic region led to the identification of a 1‐kb enhancer region, which directs expression in the embryo to the anterior region of the developing midbrain. This ephA8 ‐specific regulatory DNA sequences can now be used in biochemical analyses to identify proteins modulating the anterior differentiation of the optic tectum, and in functional analyses to direct the expression of other developmentally important genes to this region. Developmental Dynamics 226:596–603, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.