Expression of mouse c-myb during embryonic development

Three members of the myb gene family, designated as A-myb, B-myb, and c-myb, have been described in many vertebrates. A large body of evidence indicates that the c-myb gene is essential for the development of most hematopoietic lineages. By contrast, the functions of A-myb and B-myb are less well understood. To further explore the relationship between the different myb family members we have compared the expression of A-myb and c-myb during mouse embryogenesis by Northern blotting and by in situ hybridization. In accordance with the important role of c-myb in the hematopoietic system, we detect high levels of c-myb expression in hematopoietic organs such as the fetal liver and the thymus. Surprisingly, we find that high levels of c-myb expression are not restricted to hematopoietic cells. We show that c-myb is strongly expressed in the neural retina and in epithelia of the respiratory tract. The side-by side analysis of c-myb and A-myb expression clearly shows that both genes are expressed in different, but overlapping sets of tissues. Our results suggest that the function of c-myb may not be restricted to hematopoietic cells.