Brachyury, Foxa2 and the cis-Regulatory Origins of the Notochord.

ABSTRACT: A main challenge of modern biology is to understand how specific constellations of genes are activated to differentiate cells and give rise to distinct tissues. This study focuses on elucidating how gene expression is initiated in the notochord, an axial structure that provides support and patterning signals to embryos of humans and all other chordates. Although numerous notochord genes have been identified, the regulatory DNAs that orchestrate development and propel evolution of this structure by eliciting notochord gene expression remain mostly uncharted, and the information on their configuration and recurrence is still quite fragmentary. Here we used the simple chordate Ciona for a systematic analysis of notochord cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), and investigated their composition, archi

SUBMITTER: Jose-Edwards DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4684326 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature