Axbrn-1: a maternal transcript encodes a POU transcription factor that is later expressed in the developing central...

Axbrn-1 encodes a class III POU protein with a POU-specific domain and a POU homeodomain that is most similar to RHS2 from rat. In embryos Axbrn-1 transcripts are maternally inherited and persist through cleavage. New transcripts accumulate beginning at the mid-blastula transition. In gastrulating embryos Axbrn-1 RNA is in the dorsal marginal zone and by neurula it is in the neural folds and neural plate. Later, it is specific to the developing brain and anterior spinal cord. Transcriptional activation at the mid-blastula transition indicates that Axbrn-1 is among the earliest genes to be expressed in axolotl embryos.