We report the cloning of Xenopus laevis Xsap-1 cDNA, encoding a member of the ternary complex factor subfamily of ETS transcription factors. The expression pattern of Xsap-1 was examined during Xenopus embryogenesis using whole-mount in situ hybridization. Spatial expression of Xsap-1 mRNA is first detected at the animal pole at the mid-blastula stage. During neurulation Xsap-1 is expressed in ...

The Wolffian ducts (proand mesonephric ducts) are the most important and earliest structures formed during the development of the urogenital system in vertebrates including humans. The Wolffian ducts originate in the prospective cervical region of the young embryo but later migrate caudally inducing the development of the pronephric and mesonephric tubules along their migratory route. In additi...

Inositol phosphatases are important regulators of cell signaling and membrane trafficking. Mutations in inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase, INPP5E, have been identified in Joubert syndrome, a rare congenital disorder characterized by midbrain malformation, retinitis pigmentosa, renal cysts, and polydactyly. Previous studies have implicated primary cilia abnormalities in Joubert syndrome, yet ...

Retinoic acid (RA) signaling is important for the early steps of nephrogenic cell fate specification. Here, we report a novel target gene of RA signaling named XPteg (Xenopus proximal tubules-expressed gene) which is critical for pronephric development. XPteg starts to be expressed at the earliest stage of embryonic kidney specification and was restricted to the pronephric proximal tubules duri...

Cilia defects have been implicated in a variety of human diseases and genetic disorders, but how cilia motility contributes to these phenotypes is still unknown. To further our understanding of how cilia function in development, we have cloned and characterized two alleles of seahorse, a zebrafish mutation that results in pronephric cysts. seahorse encodes Lrrc6l, a leucine-rich repeat-containi...

We have identified a divergent member of the Xenopus Id family, XIdx, which disrupts binding of myogenic factor/E-protein complexes to DNA in vitro and inhibits transactivation of the E-box regulated cardiac actin gene by MyoD in embryonic tissue. XIdx transcripts accumulate from the early neurula stage in discrete domains of the anterior neural plate and subsequently identify regions of the de...