Repressor activity of Headless/Tcf3 is essential for vertebrate head formation
The vertebrate organizer can induce a complete body axis when transplanted to the ventral side of a host embryo by virtue of its distinct head and trunk inducing properties. Wingless/Wnt antagonists secreted by the organizer have been identified as head inducers. Their ectopic expression can promote...
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Published in | Nature (London) Vol. 407; no. 6806; pp. 913 - 916 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing
19.10.2000
Nature Publishing Group |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The vertebrate organizer can induce a complete body axis when transplanted
to the ventral side of a host embryo by virtue of its distinct
head and trunk inducing properties. Wingless/Wnt antagonists secreted by the
organizer have been identified as head inducers. Their
ectopic expression can promote head formation, whereas ectopic activation
of Wnt signalling during early gastrulation blocks head formation.
These observations suggest that the ability of head inducers to inhibit Wnt
signalling during formation of anterior structures is what distinguishes them
from trunk inducers that permit the operation of posteriorizing Wnt signals. Here we describe the zebrafish headless (hdl) mutant
and show that its severe head defects are due to a mutation in T-cell factor-3
(Tcf3), a member of the Tcf/Lef family. Loss of Tcf3 function
in the hdl mutant reveals that hdl represses Wnt target genes.
We provide genetic evidence that a component of the Wnt signalling pathway
is essential in vertebrate head formation and patterning. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
DOI: | 10.1038/35038097 |