The Ets family member Erg gene is expressed in mesodermal tissues and neural crests at fundamental steps during mouse embryogenesis

The Erg gene belongs to the Ets family encoding a class of transcription fa ctors. To gain new insight on the in vivo functional specificity of the Erg gene within the wide Ets family, we used in situ hybridization to determin e its expression pattern during murine embryogenesis. We found that the Erg gene expression predominates in mesodermal tissues, including the endothel ial, precartilaginous and urogenital areas. A specific Erg gene expression was also identified in migrating neural crest cells. A comparison with Fli- 1, the most closely Erg-related gene, revealed that both gene expressions p artially overlap, suggesting that they may contribute to related functions in these tissues. Like other Ets family genes, Erg seems involved in severa l fundamental developmental steps in murine embryogenesis, including epithe lio-mesenchymal transition, cell migration, settlement and differentiation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Ail rights reserved.