An Evolutionarily Conserved Mesodermal Enhancer in Vertebrate Zic3.

ABSTRACT: Zic3 encodes a zinc finger protein essential for the development of meso-ectodermal tissues. In mammals, Zic3 has important roles in the development of neural tube, axial skeletons, left-right body axis, and in maintaining pluripotency of ES cells. Here we characterized cis-regulatory elements required for Zic3 expression. Enhancer activities of human-chicken-conserved noncoding sequences around Zic1 and Zic3 were screened using chick whole-embryo electroporation. We identified enhancers for meso-ectodermal tissues. Among them, a mesodermal enhancer (Zic3-ME) in distant 3' flanking showed robust enhancement of reporter gene expression in the mesodermal tissue of chicken and mouse embryos, and was required for mesodermal Zic3 expression in mice. Zic3-ME minimal core region is included in th

SUBMITTER: Odaka YS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6175831 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature