Lox10, a member of the NK-2 homeobox gene class, is expressed in a segmental pattern in the endoderm and in the cephalic nervous system of the leech Helobdella

Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Nardelli-Haefliger ◽  
M. Shankland

A novel leech homeobox gene, Lox10, is shown to encode a homeodomain sequence characteristic of a phyletically widespread NK-2 homeobox gene class. Lox10 expression was examined in leech embryos of various ages by in situ hybridization. In the unsegmented cephalic region, Lox10 RNA is expressed in a subset of the cells descended from the a' and b' micromeres, including a small cluster of cells, believed to be postmitotic neurons, within the supraesophageal ganglion of the central nervous system. Hybridization signal was not detected in either the mesoderm or ectoderm of the trunk segments, and the apparent restriction of Lox10 ectodermal expression to the nonsegmented cephalic domain resembles the restricted forebrain expression pattern of its mammalian homologues. Lox10 is also expressed within the endodermal tissues of the leech midgut, which arises by cellularization from a polynucleate syncytium. Endodermal expression is organized into a pattern of transverse stripes and spots which are aligned with the intersegmental septa, and which prefigure the pattern of gut wall constrictions observed at later stages of development. Lox10 is the first molecular marker of segmentally periodic endoderm differentiation reported for any animal species.

Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Gaunt ◽  
R. Krumlauf ◽  
D. Duboule

By use of in situ hybridization experiments on mouse embryo sections, we compare the transcript patterns of three homeo-genes from the Hox-1.4 subfamily (Hox-1.4, -2.6 and -5.1). Genes within a subfamily are true homologues, present in the genome as a result of duplication of an ancestral homeo-gene cluster. We show that Hox-1.4, -2.6 and -5.1 are similar, although apparently not identical, in the limits of their transcript domains along the anteroposterior axis. Within the prevertebral column of the 12 1/2 day embryo, for example, the anterior boundary of transcripts for each of the three genes was most obvious at the junction of the first and second prevertebrae. Similarly, all three genes showed an anterior boundary of transcripts within the central nervous system that was located in the mid-myelencephalon of the hindbrain. Both in the prevertebral column and hindbrain, however, Hox-2.6 and Hox-5.1 transcripts extended slightly anterior to the anteriormost limits detected for Hox-1.4. In spite of close similarities in the positions of their transcript domains, Hox-1.4, -2.6 and -5.1 displayed striking stage- and tissue-dependent differences in the relative abundance of their transcripts. For example, Hox-5.1 transcripts were abundant within mesoderm and ectoderm of early stages (8 1/2 and 9 1/2 days), yet were detected only weakly in mesodermal components of the lung and stomach at 10 1/2 days, and were apparently absent from these tissues at 12 1/2 days. In contrast, Hox-1.4 and Hox-2.6 transcripts were relatively weakly detected at 8 1/2 and 9 1/2 days, but were abundant within the lung and stomach at 12 1/2 days. Our findings suggest, but do not prove, that genes within the Hox-1.4 subfamily might be coordinately regulated in their expression. We discuss the patterns of mouse homeo-gene expression now observed in terms of models originally devised for Drosophila. We also propose how our new findings may help to explain any selective advantage to the vertebrates of homeo-gene duplication to form subfamilies.


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