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A novel HoxB cluster protein expressed in the hindbrain and pharyngeal arches
Ankur Saxena1, Marianne E Bronner
1Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125.
Abstract:
We describe a novel zebrafish line that fluorescently tags a previously unknown protein, CT74a, allowing us to follow its endogenous expression in real time and at subcellular resolution in live embryos. Our results showed that CT74a-Citrine fusion protein is expressed in the developing pharyngeal arches, hindbrain, and fin buds in a pattern highly reminiscent of transcription factors belonging to anterior Hox gene families, including expression in a subset of neuronal nuclei. Consistent with this, splinkerette-PCR revealed that CT74a-Citrine's genomic integration is within the HoxB region, and 3' RACE demonstrated that its downstream coding sequence has no recognizable homology. Thus, CT74a is a previously unknown protein located within the HoxB cluster adjacent to Hoxb4a and is expressed in a Hoxb4a-like pattern.
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