REQUIREMENT OF THE PARAXIS GENE FOR SOMITE FORMATION AND MUSCULOSKELETAL PATTERNING

Citation
R. Burgess et al., REQUIREMENT OF THE PARAXIS GENE FOR SOMITE FORMATION AND MUSCULOSKELETAL PATTERNING, Nature, 384(6609), 1996, pp. 570-573
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Journal title
NatureACNP
ISSN journal
00280836
Volume
384
Issue
6609
Year of publication
1996
Pages
570 - 573
Database
ISI
SICI code
0028-0836(1996)384:6609<570:ROTPGF>2.0.ZU;2-E
Abstract
THE segmental organization of the vertebrate embryo is first apparent when somites form in a rostrocaudal progression from the paraxial meso derm adjacent to the neural tube. Newly formed somites appear as paire d epithelial spheres that become patterned to form vertebrae, ribs, sk eletal muscle and derms(1-3). Paraxis is a basic helix-loop-helix tran scription factor expressed in paraxial mesoderm and somites(4). Here w e show that in mice homozygous for a paraxis null mutation, cells from the paraxial mesoderm are unable to form epithelia and so somite form ation is disrupted. In the absence of normal somites, the axial skelet on and skeletal muscle form but are improperly patterned. Unexpectedly , however, we found that formation of epithelial somites was not requi red for segmentation of the embryo or for the establishment of somitic cell lineages. These results demonstrate that paraxis regulates somit e morphogenesis, and that the function of somites is to pattern the ax ial skeleton and skeletal muscles.