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Gastrulation01:56

Gastrulation

Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata will form...
Determination01:51

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Combinatorial Gene Control02:33

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Master Transcription Regulators

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Blastomere Explants to Test for Cell Fate Commitment During Embryonic Development
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Distinct enhancer elements control Hex expression during gastrulation and early organogenesis.

T A Rodriguez1, E S Casey, R M Harland

  • 1Division of Mammalian Development, National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London, NW7 1AA, United Kingdom.

Developmental Biology
|June 9, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Regulatory elements controlling Hex gene expression in early mouse development were mapped. Specific DNA regions were identified for Hex expression in the anterior visceral endoderm, definitive endoderm, and endothelial precursors, revealing conserved vertebrate regulatory mechanisms.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Patterning of anterior neural ectoderm requires signaling from the anterior visceral endoderm and node.
  • The divergent homeobox gene Hex is expressed in key embryonic signaling centers and developing organs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To map cis-acting regulatory elements controlling Hex gene expression during early mouse embryogenesis.
  • To investigate the conservation of Hex regulatory regions across vertebrate species.

Main Methods:

  • Transgenic analysis in mice to identify regulatory elements.
  • Functional analysis of upstream and intronic DNA fragments.
  • Comparative analysis in Xenopus laevis.

Main Results:

  • A 4.2-kb upstream region controls Hex expression in endothelial precursors, liver, and thyroid.
  • A 633-bp intronic fragment is essential for Hex expression in the anterior visceral endoderm and anterior definitive endoderm.
  • Conserved regulatory function of these elements was observed in Xenopus laevis.
  • A repressor region within the anterior visceral endoderm/anterior definitive endoderm enhancer downregulates Hex expression in the node.
  • Hex initiation in anterior visceral endoderm and axial mesendoderm shares elements, but maintenance is independently regulated.

Conclusions:

  • Specific regulatory regions govern Hex expression in distinct embryonic tissues.
  • Vertebrate Hex gene regulation shows conserved mechanisms.
  • Hex expression dynamics involve both shared initiation elements and independent maintenance pathways.