XSIP1, a Xenopus zinc finger/homeodomain encoding gene highly expressed during early neural development

We have isolated a Xenopus homologue of the zinc finger/homeodomain-contain ing transcriptional repressor Smad-interacting protein-1 (SIP1) from mouse. XSIP1 is activated at the early gastrula stage and transcription occurs th roughout embryogenesis. At the beginning of gastrulation, XSIP1 is strongly expressed in prospective neurectoderm. At the neurula stage, XSIP1 is high ly expressed within the neural plate but weakly in the dorsal midline. At l ater stages of development transcripts are detected primarily within the ne ural tube and neural crest. In the adult, XSIP1 expression is detected at v ariable levels in several organs. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Al l rights reserved.