A CHICKEN WNT GENE, WNT-11, IS INVOLVED IN DERMAL DEVELOPMENT

We have isolated a new member of the Wnt gene family, Wnt-11, from chi ck embryo cDNA library and examined the expression pattern during embr yogenesis by in situ hybridization. The Wnt-11 gene encodes Cys-rich s ecretory protein distantly related to Wnt-1 through Wnt-8 from the mou se and Xenopus. Expression of the Wnt-11 gene became evident at stage 14 in the dorsolateral region of somites and gradually restricted to t he dermatome at stage 19 and later. In contrast to the other Wnt genes , Wnt-11 was not expressed in the neuroepithelium throughout stages 14 -26. At stage 24 and later, Wnt-11 was expressed in the subectodermal mesenchyme of the limb and feather buds. The unique expression pattern of Wnt-11 in the paraxial mesoderm and dermatome suggests that Wnt-11 may play an important role in dermal development. (C) 1995 Academic P ress, Inc.