CMIX, a paired-type homeobox gene expressed before and during formation of the avian primitive streak

We cloned a chicken homeobox gene closely related to the Xenopus Mix. 1 gene. CMIX is expressed early in embryogenis in a sickle-shaped area in the posterior zone of the blastoderm. With the beginning of gastrulation, CMIX transcripts are found in the primitive streak primordium, then in the young and medium-sized streak, however not in the mesoderm after its emergence. In the fully-extended streak, CMIX is restricted to its middle, i.e. the prospective ventral mesoderm. CMIX RNA is undetectable by whole-mount in-situ analysis in later stages. We compare CMIX expression to the early pattern of the brachyury gene.