A fragment of the neurogenin1 gene confers regulated expression of a reporter gene in vitro and in vivo

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor neurogenin1 is required for proper nervous system development in vertebrates. It is expressed in neuro nal precursors during embryonic development and is thought to play a role i n specifying neuronal fate. To investigate the regulation of neurogenin1 ex pression, the transcriptional start site of the gene was identified and a 2 .7-kb fragment ending in the first exon was shown to possess basal promoter activity. This 2.7-kb fragment was able to promote expression of reporter genes in P19 cells under conditions in which expression of endogenous neuro genin1 was induced. Importantly, the 2.7-kb fragment was able to drive expr ession of a lacZ reporter gene in transgenic mice in most tissues in which neurogenin1 is normally expressed, including those peripheral ganglia that fail to develop in neurogenin1 "knockout" mice. These findings identify a r egulatory region containing elements responsible for appropriate expression of a gene with a crucial role in generating the vertebrate nervous system. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.