Ascidians show a highly determinate mode of development. In particular, components of the posterior-vegetal cytoplasm of fertilized eggs are responsible for the establishment of the embryonic axis. Recent studies have, however, also revealed significant roles of cell-cell interactions during embryogenesis. Proteins encoded by the Wnt family of genes act as signals and have been shown to play important roles in a wide range of developmental processes. Here we have isolated and characterized an ascidian Wnt gene, HrWnt-5, from Halocynthia roretzi. HrWnt-5 mRNA is present in the vegetal cortex in unfertilized eggs. After fertilization, HrWnt-5 mRNA moves to the equatorial region to form a crescent-like structure, after which the mRNA is concentrated in the posteriormost region of the embryo. This early pattern of HrWnt-5 mRNA localization coincides with another posterior-vegetally localized mRNA, pem, isolated from Ciona savignyi. In the gastrula, the zygotic HrWnt-5 mRNA is found in a variety of blastomeres, suggesting multiple roles of the gene.
HrWnt-5: a maternally expressed ascidian Wnt gene with posterior localization in early embryos.
Y. Sasakura,M. Ogasawara,K. Makabe
Published 1998 in International Journal of Developmental Biology
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
1998
- Venue
International Journal of Developmental Biology
- Publication date
1998-05-01
- Fields of study
Biology, Medicine
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
CONCEPTS
- blastomere
An individual cell in the early embryo, including the cells in which zygotic HrWnt-5 mRNA was detected.
- gastrula
The embryonic stage after gastrulation at which zygotic HrWnt-5 expression was examined.
- halocynthia roretzi
The ascidian species that provided the embryos used to study HrWnt-5 expression.
- hrwnt-5 gene
An ascidian Wnt gene isolated from Halocynthia roretzi for analysis of its developmental expression.
- hrwnt-5 mrna
The RNA transcript produced by HrWnt-5 and examined for its localization pattern in early embryos.
- pem mrna
A posterior-vegetally localized maternal mRNA from Ciona savignyi used here as a comparison marker.
- posterior-vegetal localization
An early embryonic distribution pattern in which maternal material is concentrated toward the posterior vegetal side.
- vegetal cortex
The cortex at the vegetal pole of the egg, where maternal HrWnt-5 mRNA is initially located.
REFERENCES
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