Mj. Beanan et al., Regulation of early expression of Dlx3, a Xenopus anti-neural factor, by beta-catenin signaling, MECH DEVEL, 91(1-2), 2000, pp. 227-235
The ectoderm of the pre-gastrula Xenopus embryo has previously been shown t
o be at least partially patterned along the dorsal-ventral axis. The early
expression of the anti-neural homeodomain gene D1x3 is localized to the ven
tral ectoderm by a mechanism that occurs prior to gastrulation and is indep
endent of the Spemann organizer. The repression of D1x3 is mediated by sign
aling though beta-catenin, but is probably not dependent on the induction o
f the Xnr3 or chordin genes by beta-catenin. We propose a model in which th
is early regulation of D1x3 accounts for the pro-neural bias of dorsal ecto
derm. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.