Diversification of the expression patterns and developmental functions of the dishevelled gene family during chordate evolution |
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| Authors: | Ryan S. Gray Roy D. Bayly Stephen A. Green Seema Agarwala Christopher J. Lowe John B. Wallingford |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas;2. Section of Neurobiology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas;3. Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois;4. Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas;5. Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, Texas |
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| Abstract: | Dishevelled (Dvl) proteins are key transducers of Wnt signaling encoded by members of a multi‐gene family in vertebrates. We report here the divergent, tissue‐specific expression patterns for all three Dvl genes in Xenopus embryos, which contrast dramatically with their expression patterns in mice. Moreover, we find that the expression patterns of Dvl genes in the chick diverge significantly from those of Xenopus. In addition, in hemichordates, an outgroup to chordates, we find that the one Dvl gene is dynamically expressed in a tissue‐specific manner. Using knockdowns, we find that Dvl1 and Dvl2 are required for early neural crest specification and for somite segmentation in Xenopus. Most strikingly, we report a novel role for Dvl3 in the maintenance of gene expression in muscle and in the development of the Xenopus sclerotome. These data demonstrate that the expression patterns and developmental functions of specific Dvl genes have diverged significantly during chordate evolution. Developmental Dynamics 238:2044–2057, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | Dishevelled (Dvl) Wnt chordate evolution sclerotome myotome |
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