Precise cis-regulatory control of spatial and temporal expression of the alx-1 gene in the skeletogenic lineage of s. purpuratus.

ABSTRACT: Deployment of the gene-regulatory network (GRN) responsible for skeletogenesis in the embryo of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is restricted to the large micromere lineage by a double negative regulatory gate. The gate consists of a GRN subcircuit composed of the pmar1 and hesC genes, which encode repressors and are wired in tandem, plus a set of target regulatory genes under hesC control. The skeletogenic cell state is specified initially by micromere-specific expression of these regulatory genes, viz. alx1, ets1, tbrain and tel, plus the gene encoding the Notch ligand Delta. Here we use a recently developed high throughput methodology for experimental cis-regulatory analysis to elucidate the genomic regulatory system controlling alx1 expression in time and embryonic space.

SUBMITTER: Damle S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3164750 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature