Xenopus cadherin-6 is expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system and in neurogenic placodes

We have cloned the cDNAs encoding the two Xenopus laevis cadherin-6 pseudoalleles (Xcad-6 and Xcad-6'), which belong to the classical type II cadherin subfamily. During embryogenesis, Xcad-6 expression starts at early neurula and increases dramatically until tadpole stages. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that the transcripts are localized in the developing brain and eye. However, most prominent expression was found in the peripheral nervous system, including a major proportion of lateral line structures. Our results implicate an important contribution of cadherin-6 to the formation of placode derived nerves in Xenopus, an observation which has not been described for other species.