STRUCTURE AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION OF A MURINE LIM HOMEOBOX GENE,LHX8/

Lhx8 is a LIM-homeodomain protein, containing two tandemly repeated LI M motifs and a homeodomain. The expression of Lhx8 is limited spatiall y to the medial ganglionic eminence and the mesenchyme surrounding the oral cavity and temporally from middle embryonic to early postnatal d evelopment, suggesting a role for Lhx8 in differentiation of certain n eurons and mesenchymal cells,just as the other LIM-homeodomain protein s are implicated in determining the fates of certain cell types. Here we report the structure and the chromosomal localization of the Lhx8 g ene. The gene is composed of nine exons and eight introns. The first L IM domain is coded by two exons, exons 2 and 3, and the second by a si ngle exon, exon 4. The homeodomain is encoded by three exons, exons 6, 7, and 8. In situ chromosomal hybridization demonstrated that the Lhx 8 gene was localized in the distal region of mouse chromosome 3. (C) 1 998 Academic Press.