Ectopic expression of a genomic fragment containing a homeobox causes neural defects in the axolotl
- 1 May 1991
- journal article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Biochemistry and Cell Biology
- Vol. 69 (5-6) , 366-374
- https://doi.org/10.1139/o91-056
Abstract
An axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) genomic fragment containing the Ahoxl homeobox was placed under the control of the mouse hsp68 promoter, which seems to function constitutively in the axolotl. The resulting construct was injected into fertilized axolotl eggs to see if it would perturb development. Of the injected embryos, 20% showed severe reduction of the anterior neural plate. Later in development, these embryos had small heads, no eyes, and appeared to lack the normal regionalization of the brain. An additional 35% of the embryos were less severely affected, but had reduced or missing eyes. Control embryos, including ones injected with a construct missing the DNA recognition helix of the homeobox, developed normally.Key words: axolotl, homeobox, neural defects, pattern formation.Keywords
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