A Xenopus borealis homeobox gene expressed preferentially in posterior ectoderm

We have isolated a new homeobox-encoding gene (XhoxB.1) from Xenopus borealis which has a homeobox exon identical to that of the murine Hox1.7 gene, except for one amino acid. XhoxB.1 transcripts of 2.1 and 7.0 kb are first detected at the late gastrula stage, accumulate until the tailbud stage and are most abundant in the posterior third of the dorsal part of the embryo.