Lineage tracing of axial progenitors using Nkx1-2CreERT2 mice defines their trunk and tail contributions.

ABSTRACT: The vertebrate body forms by continuous generation of new tissue from progenitors at the posterior end of the embryo. The study of these axial progenitors has proved to be challenging in vivo largely because of the lack of unique molecular markers to identify them. Here, we elucidate the expression pattern of the transcription factor Nkx1-2 in the mouse embryo and show that it identifies axial progenitors throughout body axis elongation, including neuromesodermal progenitors and early neural and mesodermal progenitors. We create a tamoxifen-inducible Nkx1-2CreERT2 transgenic mouse and exploit the conditional nature of this line to uncover the lineage contributions of Nkx1-2-expressing cells at specific stages. We show that early Nkx1-2-expressing epiblast cells contribute to all three germ

SUBMITTER: Rodrigo Albors A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6198475 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature