Evolution of Developmental Programs for the Midline Structures in Chordates: Insights From Gene Regulation in the Floor Plate and Hypochord Homologues of Ciona Embryos.

ABSTRACT: In vertebrate embryos, dorsal midline tissues, including the notochord, the prechordal plate, and the floor plate, play important roles in patterning of the central nervous system, somites, and endodermal tissues by producing extracellular signaling molecules, such as Sonic hedgehog (Shh). In Ciona, hedgehog.b, one of the two hedgehog genes, is expressed in the floor plate of the embryonic neural tube, while none of the hedgehog genes are expressed in the notochord. We have identified a cis-regulatory region of hedgehog.b that was sufficient to drive a reporter gene expression in the floor plate. The hedgehog.b cis-regulatory region also drove ectopic expression of the reporter gene in the endodermal strand, suggesting that the floor plate a

SUBMITTER: Oonuma K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8256262 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature