The transcription factor GATA6 is essential for early extraembryonic development
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2026

A Reverse Genetic Approach to Test Functional Redundancy During Embryogenesis
Published on: August 11, 2010
M Koutsourakis1, A Langeveld, R Patient
1Erasmus University, Medical Genetics Centre, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The gene coding for the murine transcription factor GATA6 was inactivated by insertion of a beta-galactosidase marker gene. The analysis of heterozygote GATA6/lacZ mice shows two inductions of GATA6 expression early in development. It is first expressed at the blastocyst stage in part of the inner cell mass and in the trophectoderm. The second wave of expression is in parietal endoderm (Reichert's membrane) and the mesoderm and endoderm that form the heart and gut. Inactivation leads to a lethality shortly after implantation (5.5 days postcoitum). Chimeric experiments show this to be caused by an indirect effect on the epiblast due to a defect in an extraembryonic tissue.
Related Concept Videos
General Transcription Factors
Master Transcription Regulators
Transcription Factors
Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the male...
Gastrulation
Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

