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- Title
Conversion of ectoderm into a neural fate by ATH-3, a vertebrate basic helix-loop-helix gene homologous to Drosophila proneural gene atonal.
- Authors
Takebayashi, Koichi; Takahashi, Shuji; Yokota, Chika; Tsuda, Hiroshi; Nakanishi, Shigetada; Asashima, Makoto; Kageyama, Ryoichiro
- Abstract
We have isolated a novel basic helix—loop—helix (bHLH) gene homologous to the Drosophila proneural gene atonal, termed ATH-3, from Xenopus and mouse. ATH-3 is expressed in the developing nervous system, with high levels of expression in the brain, retina and cranial ganglions. Injection of 4TH-3 RNA into Xenopus embryos dramatically expands the neural tube and induces ectopic neural tissues in the epidermis but inhibits non-neural development. This ATH-3-induced neural hyperplasia does not require cell division, indicating that surrounding cells which are normally non-neural types adopt a neural fate. In a Xenopus animal cap assay, ATH-3 is able to convert ectodermal cells into neurons expressing anterior markers without inducing mesoderm, lnterestingly, a single amino acid change from Ser to Asp in the basic region, which mimics phosphorylation of Sen, severely impairs the anterior marker-inducing ability without affecting general neurogenic activities. These results provide evidence that ATH-3 call directly convert non-neural or undetermined cells into a neural late, and suggest that the Ser residue in the basic region may be critical for the regulation of ATH-3 activity by phosphorylation.
- Subjects
ATONALITY; XENOPUS; XENOPUS laevis; DEVELOPMENTAL neurobiology; GENES; CELLS
- Publication
EMBO Journal, 1997, Vol 16, Issue 2, p384
- ISSN
0261-4189
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/emboj/16.2.384