THE MOUSE ZIC GENE FAMILY - HOMOLOGS OF THE DROSOPHILA PAIR-RULE GENEODD-PAIRED

Citation
J. Aruga et al., THE MOUSE ZIC GENE FAMILY - HOMOLOGS OF THE DROSOPHILA PAIR-RULE GENEODD-PAIRED, The Journal of biological chemistry, 271(2), 1996, pp. 1043-1047
Citations number
18
Categorie Soggetti
Biology
ISSN journal
00219258
Volume
271
Issue
2
Year of publication
1996
Pages
1043 - 1047
Database
ISI
SICI code
0021-9258(1996)271:2<1043:TMZGF->2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
The mouse Zic gene, which encodes a zinc finger protein, is expressed in the developing or matured central nervous system in a highly restri cted manner. We identified two novel Zic-related genes (Zic2, Zic3) th rough genomic and cDNA cloning. Both genes are highly similar to Zic(1 ), especially in their zinc finger motif. A comparison of genomic orga nization among the three Zic genes showed that they share common exon intron boundaries and belong to the same gene family. Zic1, Zic2, and Zic3 were determined to mouse chromosome 9, 14, and X using an intersp ecific backcross panel. Northern blotting and ribonuclease protection showed that Zic2 and Zic3 are expressed in a restricted manner in the cerebellum at the adult stage. However, the temporal profile of the mR NA expression in the developing cerebella differ in the three Zic gene s. Furthermore, we found that the Drosophila pair-rule gene, odd-paire d is highly homologous to the Zic gene family. The similarity was not only the zinc finger motif, but also the exon-intron boundary was the same as those of mouse Zic gene family. These findings suggest that th e Zic gene family and Drosophila odd-paired are derived from a common ancestral gene.