CODING SEQUENCE AND EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF MOUSE CHORDIN AND MAPPING OF THE COGNATE MOUSE CHRD AND HUMAN CHRD GENES

Chordin is a key developmental protein that dorsalizes early vertebrat e embryonic tissues by binding to ventralizing TGF-P-Like bone morphog enetic proteins and sequestering them in latent complexes. Here we rep ort the first characterization of mammalian chordin. The full-length c DNA sequence for mouse chordin is given, and RNA blot analysis shows t he murine chordin gene Chrd to be expressed at relatively high levels in 7-day postcoitum mouse embryos and at much decreased levels at late r developmental times and in adult tissues. These results imply a majo r role for chordin during gastrulation of the mammalian embryo. Nevert heless, both murine and human chordin genes are shown to be expressed at readily detectable levels in several fetal and adult tissues, most notably Liver and cerebellum, suggesting additional roles in organogen esis and homeostasis. Chrd was mapped to mouse chromosome 16 using int erspecific crosses, and the cognate human gene CHRD was localized to h uman chromosome 3q27 by radiation hybrid mapping. (C) 1998 Academic Pr ess.