Klhl31 is associated with skeletal myogenesis and its expression is regulated by myogenic signals and Myf-5

Klhl31 is an orthologue of Drosophila Kelch and belongs to a family of Kelch-like proteins in vertebrates. Members of this family contain multiple protein domains, including an amino-terminal broad complex/tram-track/bric-a-brac (BTB) or poxvirus and zinc finger (POZ) domain, carboxy-terminal Kelch repeats and a central linker region. We show that Klhl31 is highly expressed in the developing heart, the somite myotome and later in differentiated skeletal muscle and the myocardium. In developing somites expression of Klhl31 was initiated in the epaxial domain of the myotome, shortly after the skeletal muscle specific bHLH transcription factor, MyoD, was first expressed. Klhl31 remained expressed in skeletal muscle throughout embryonic and fetal development. Tissue ablations and rescue experiments that regulate myogenesis also govern expression of Klhl31 expression in somites. In particular, axial tissues, neural tube, floor plate and notochord, and surface ectoderm, provide combinatorial cues for myogenesis and the appropriate expression of Klhl31. We show that a combination of myogenic signals, Shh and either Wnt-1 or Wnt-6, are sufficient for Klhl31 expression in the dorsal somite. Furthermore, ectopic expression of Myf-5 led to expression of Klhl31 in the developing neural tube, indicating that Klhl31 is a novel and integral part of vertebrate myogenesis.