Dlx3b/4b are required for the formation of the preplacodal region and otic placode through local modulation of BMP activity.

ABSTRACT: The vertebrate inner ear arises from the otic placode, a transient thickening of ectodermal epithelium adjacent to neural crest domains in the presumptive head. During late gastrulation, cells fated to comprise the inner ear are part of a domain in cranial ectoderm that contain precursors of all sensory placodes, termed the preplacodal region (PPR). The combination of low levels of BMP activity coupled with high levels of FGF signaling are required to establish the PPR through induction of members of the six/eya/dach, iro, and dlx families of transcription factors. The zebrafish dlx3b/4b transcription factors are expressed at the neural plate border where they play partially redundant roles in the specification of the PPR, otic and olfactory placodes. We demonstrate that dlx3b/4b assist in

SUBMITTER: Esterberg R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2674874 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature