EXPRESSION OF 3 MOUSE HOMOLOGS OF THE DROSOPHILA SEGMENT POLARITY GENE CUBITUS-INTERRUPTUS, GLI, GLI-2, AND GLI-3, IN ECTODERM-DERIVED AND MESODERM-DERIVED TISSUES SUGGESTS MULTIPLE ROLES DURING POSTIMPLANTATION DEVELOPMENT
Cc. Hui et al., EXPRESSION OF 3 MOUSE HOMOLOGS OF THE DROSOPHILA SEGMENT POLARITY GENE CUBITUS-INTERRUPTUS, GLI, GLI-2, AND GLI-3, IN ECTODERM-DERIVED AND MESODERM-DERIVED TISSUES SUGGESTS MULTIPLE ROLES DURING POSTIMPLANTATION DEVELOPMENT, Developmental biology, 162(2), 1994, pp. 402-413
Three mouse genes, Gli, Gli-2, and Gli-3, which share a similar zinc f
inger domain with the products of the Drosophila segment polarity gene
cubitus interruptus and the Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determining ge
ne tra-1 were cloned and characterized. The expression patterns during
postimplantation development of the three genes were analyzed by Nort
hern blot, whole-mount, and section in situ hybridizations. Expression
was first detected during gastrulation in both the ectoderm and mesod
erm. Later in development, their expression became more restricted in
various ectoderm- and mesoderm-derived tissues and was not detectable
after completion of organogenesis. Interestingly, in the developing ne
ural tube, Gli showed a narrow ventral domain of expression, whereas G
li-2 and Gli-3 showed a broad and dorsally restricted domain. Expressi
on of these three Gli genes in various ectoderm- and mesoderm-derived
tissues suggests that they play multiple roles during postimplantation
development. Consistent with this hypothesis, a naturally occurring G
li-3 mutation, the mouse extra-toes mutant, shows defects in both meso
derm- and ectoderm-derived tissues. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.