Chibby functions in Xenopus ciliary assembly, embryonic development, and the regulation of gene expression.

ABSTRACT: Wnt signaling and ciliogenesis are core features of embryonic development in a range of metazoans. Chibby (Cby), a basal-body associated protein, regulates β-catenin-mediated Wnt signaling in the mouse but not Drosophila. Here we present an analysis of Cby's embryonic expression and morphant phenotypes in Xenopus laevis. Cby RNA is supplied maternally, negatively regulated by Snail2 but not Twist1, preferentially expressed in the neuroectoderm, and regulates β-catenin-mediated gene expression. Reducing Cby levels reduced the density of multiciliated cells, the number of basal bodies per multiciliated cell, and the numbers of neural tube primary cilia; it also led to abnormal development of the neural crest, central nervous system, and pronephros, all defects that were rescued by a Cby-GFP

SUBMITTER: Shi J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4539557 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature