Cloning and developmental expression of Baf57 in Xenopus laevis

Mammalian and Drosophila homologues of Baf57 have been previously isolated as being a subunit of SWI/SNF-like chromatin remodeling complexes. Here, we report the cloning and developmental expression of Xenopus Baf57. We isolated XBaf57 by using an expression cloning approach to identify novel modulators of Xenopus Smad7. XBaf57 co-operates with XSmad7 by increasing the expression of neural markers in ectodermal explants. XBaf57 is expressed in the ectoderm and pre-involuting mesoderm during gastrula stages and in the central nervous system during neurula and tailbud stages. These results raise the possibility that XBaf57 (or XBaf57-containing chromatin remodelling complexes) may be involved in the process of neural induction during Xenopus embryonic development.