A forward genetic screen with a thalamocortical axon reporter mouse yields novel neurodevelopment mutants and a distinct emx2 mutant phenotype.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The dorsal thalamus acts as a gateway and modulator for information going to and from the cerebral cortex. This activity requires the formation of reciprocal topographic axon connections between thalamus and cortex. The axons grow along a complex multistep pathway, making sharp turns, crossing expression boundaries, and encountering intermediate targets. However, the cellular and molecular components mediating these steps remain poorly understood.

Results

To further elucidate the development of the thalamocortical system, we first created a thalamocortical axon reporter line to use as a genetic tool for sensitive analysis of mutant mouse phenotypes. The TCA-tau-lacZ reporter mouse shows specific, robust, and reproducible labeling of thalamocortical axons (TCAs), b

SUBMITTER: Dwyer ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3024922 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature