Vegetally localized Xenopus trim36 regulates cortical rotation and dorsal axis formation.

ABSTRACT: Specification of the dorsoventral axis in Xenopus depends on rearrangements of the egg vegetal cortex following fertilization, concomitant with activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. How these processes are tied together is not clear, but RNAs localized to the vegetal cortex during oogenesis are known to be essential. Despite their importance, few vegetally localized RNAs have been examined in detail. In this study, we describe the identification of a novel localized mRNA, trim36, and characterize its function through maternal loss-of-function experiments. We find that trim36 is expressed in the germ plasm and encodes a ubiquitin ligase of the Tripartite motif-containing (Trim) family. Depletion of maternal trim36 using antisense oligonucleotides results in ventralized embryos and reduc

SUBMITTER: Cuykendall TN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2730363 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature