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Raldh expression in embryos of the direct developing frog Eleutherodactylus coqui and the conserved retinoic acid requirement for forelimb initiation
Author(s) -
Elinson Richard P.,
Walton Zachary,
Nath Kimberly
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part b: molecular and developmental evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-5015
pISSN - 1552-5007
DOI - 10.1002/jez.b.21229
Subject(s) - biology , forelimb , hindbrain , mesoderm , anatomy , retinoic acid , neurula , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , embryo , gastrulation , embryogenesis , genetics , gene , embryonic stem cell
Embryos of the direct developing frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui , provide opportunities to examine frog early limb development that are not available in species with tadpoles. We cloned two retinaldehyde dehydrogenase genes, EcRaldh1 and EcRaldh2 , to see which enzyme likely supplies retinoic acid for limb development. EcRaldh1 is expressed in the dorsal retina, otic vesicle, pronephros, and pronephric duct, but not in the limb. EcRaldh2 is expressed early at the blastoporal lip and then in the mesoderm in the neurula, so this expression could function in forelimb initiation. Later EcRaldh2 is expressed in the mesoderm at the base of the limbs and in the ventral spinal cord where motor neurons innervating the limbs emerge. These observations on a frog support the functional conservation of EcRaldh2 in forelimb initiation in Osteichthyans and in limb patterning and motor neuron specification in tetrapods. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 310B:588–595, 2008 . © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.