Comparison of the expression patterns of five neural RNA binding proteins in the Xenopus retina

An increasing body of evidence indicates that gene expression can be modulated by posttranscriptional mechanisms. RNA binding proteins, for instance, control gene expression at many regulatory levels including RNA splicing, transport, stability, and translation. Although numerous RNA binding proteins have been identified, very few have been studied extensively in the context of developmental processes. We focused our study on five neural RNA binding proteins: one Musashi homolog, Nrp-1, one member of the Bruno gene family, BruL-1 (also known as Etr-1), and three members of the ELAV/Hu family, ElrB, ElrC, and ElrD. As an initial step in addressing their function during Xenopus neurogenesis, we used in situ hybridization to determine their expression patterns during retinal development. We found that RNA binding proteins belonging to different families have distinct spatio-temporal expression. These combinatorial expression patterns are reminiscent of previously described cell type-specific expression patterns of transcription factors during retinal development. The distribution of RNA binding proteins within the retina suggests that these regulators of posttranscriptional events may play important roles in multiple steps of retinogenesis.