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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
Dissection and Immunohistochemistry of Larval, Pupal and Adult Drosophila Retinas
Published on: November 14, 2012
Expression of Drosophila omb-related T-box genes in the developing human and mouse neural retina
J C Sowden1, J K Holt, M Meins
1Developmental Biology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom. j.sowden@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Purpose:
To examine the role of Drosophila optomotor blind (omb)-related T-box genes in development of human and mouse retina.
Methods:
Mouse Tbx2, Tbx3, and Tbx5 and human TBX2 cDNAs were isolated from retinal cDNA libraries by hybridization to the Drosophila omb gene. Gene expression patterns in developing retina were analyzed by in situ hybridization.
Results:
TBX2/Tbx2, TBX3/Tbx3, and TBX5/Tbx5 were expressed asymmetrically across the embryonic neural retina with highest levels of mRNA within dorsal and peripheral retina. The dorsoventral gradient of TBX2 expression disappeared before the ganglion cell layer (GCL) formed. Its expression then became restricted to the inner neuroblastic retina and later to the GCL and inner nuclear layer (INL). The dorsal expression domains of TBX5/Tbx5 and TBX3/Tbx3 were maintained during formation of the GCL. As the retina matured, TBX3/Tbx3 expression was restricted to the INL, and TBX5/Tbx5 was expressed within the GCL.
Conclusions:
The expression pattern of TBX2, TBX3, and TBX5 within the developing retina supports the idea that the encoded transcription factors play a role in providing positional information important for topographic mapping and in differentiation of distinct cell types across the laminar axis of the retina.
