Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026
07:40
Dissection of the Auditory Bulla in Postnatal Mice: Isolation of the Middle Ear Bones and Histological Analysis
Published on: January 4, 2017
Defects in brain patterning and head morphogenesis in the mouse mutant Fused toes
Isabelle Anselme1, Christine Laclef, Magali Lanaud
1Biologie du Développement, CNRS UMR7622, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9 Quai Saint-Bernard, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Developmental Biology
|January 24, 2007
Summary
The Fused toes (Ft) mouse mutant exhibits severe head defects due to a chromosome 8 deletion impacting brain patterning and head development. This deletion affects multiple genes, leading to significant developmental abnormalities in the brain and facial structures.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Genetics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Vertebrate development involves coordinated brain patterning and head morphogenesis.
- The Fused toes (Ft) mouse mutant displays severe midgestation head defects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic basis of head defects in the Ft mouse mutant.
- To analyze the impact of a specific chromosomal deletion on brain development and morphogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the Fused toes (Ft) mouse mutant line with a 1.6-Mb deletion on chromosome 8.
- Examination of gene expression and morphological defects in Ft/Ft embryos during development.
Main Results:
- The deletion in Ft/Ft embryos affects anteroposterior and dorsoventral brain patterning.
- Observed defects include forebrain expansion, midbrain reduction, reduced medial pallium and hypothalamus, perturbed forebrain and optic vesicle morphogenesis, and hypoplastic facial structures.
- Neural tube closure is delayed or absent, and eye development is reduced.
Conclusions:
- The observed defects are attributed to the deletion of the IrxB gene cluster (Irx3, Irx5, Irx6) and potentially Fts, Ftm, and Fto genes.
- The study highlights the critical roles of these deleted genes in coordinated brain patterning and head morphogenesis during vertebrate development.
