Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
9
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-7-2
pubmed:abstractText
Members of the orthodenticle gene family are essential for embryonic brain development in animals as diverse as insects and mammals. In Drosophila, mutational inactivation of the orthodenticle gene results in deletions in anterior parts of the embryonic brain and in defects in the ventral nerve cord. In the mouse, targeted elimination of the homologous Otx2 or Otx1 genes causes defects in forebrain and/or midbrain development. To determine the morphogenetic properties and the extent of evolutionary conservation of the orthodenticle gene family in embryonic brain development, genetic rescue experiments were carried out in Drosophila. Ubiquitous overexpression of the orthodenticle gene rescues both the brain defects and the ventral nerve cord defects in orthodenticle mutant embryos; morphology and nervous system-specific gene expression are restored. Two different time windows exist for the rescue of the brain versus the ventral nerve cord. Ubiquitous overexpression of the human OTX1 or OTX2 genes also rescues the brain and ventral nerve cord phenotypes in orthodenticle mutant embryos; in the brain, the efficiency of morphological rescue is lower than that obtained with overexpression of orthodenticle. Overexpression of either orthodenticle or the human OTX gene homologs in the wild-type embryo results in ectopic neural structures. The rescue of highly complex brain structures in Drosophila by either fly or human orthodenticle gene homologs indicates that these genes are interchangeable between vertebrates and invertebrates and provides further evidence for an evolutionarily conserved role of the orthodenticle gene family in brain development.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0950-1991
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
125
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1703-10
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Animals, Genetically Modified, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Brain, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Central Nervous System, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Drosophila, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Drosophila Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Gene Expression, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Genes, Homeobox, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Genes, Insect, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Homeodomain Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Hot Temperature, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Morphogenesis, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Mutation, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Nerve Tissue Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Otx Transcription Factors, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Phenotype, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Trans-Activators, pubmed-meshheading:9521908-Transcription Factors
pubmed:year
1998
pubmed:articleTitle
Equivalence of the fly orthodenticle gene and the human OTX genes in embryonic brain development of Drosophila.
pubmed:affiliation
Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't