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The rax homeobox gene is mutated in the eyeless axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum
Author(s) -
Davis Erik S.,
Voss Gareth,
Miesfeld Joel B.,
ZarateSanchez Juan,
Voss S. Randal,
Glaser Tom
Publication year - 2021
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.246
Subject(s) - biology , homeobox , axolotl , optic vesicle , ambystoma mexicanum , ectoderm , genetics , neural plate , microbiology and biotechnology , pax6 , eye development , gene , neural crest , transcription factor , embryogenesis , regeneration (biology)
Background Vertebrate eye formation requires coordinated inductive interactions between different embryonic tissue layers, first described in amphibians. A network of transcription factors and signaling molecules controls these steps, with mutations causing severe ocular, neuronal, and craniofacial defects. In eyeless mutant axolotls, eye morphogenesis arrests at the optic vesicle stage, before lens induction, and development of ventral forebrain structures is disrupted. Results We identified a 5‐bp deletion in the rax (retina and anterior neural fold homeobox) gene, which was tightly linked to the recessive eyeless ( e ) axolotl locus in an F2 cross. This frameshift mutation, in exon 2, truncates RAX protein within the homeodomain (P154fs35X). Quantitative RNA analysis shows that mutant and wild‐type rax transcripts are equally abundant in E / e embryos. Translation appears to initiate from dual start codons, via leaky ribosome scanning, a conserved feature among gnathostome RAX proteins. Previous data show rax is expressed in the optic vesicle and diencephalon, deeply conserved among metazoans, and required for eye formation in other species. Conclusion The eyeless axolotl mutation is a null allele in the rax homeobox gene, with primary defects in neural ectoderm, including the retinal and hypothalamic primordia.