HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE ADVANCED SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Andachi, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Andachi, Y.

Centre for Genetic Resource Information, National Institute of Genetics, and Department of Genetics, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Mishima, Shizuoka-ken 411-8540, Japan

Transcription factors containing the DNA binding motif, T-box, play an important role in the embryonic development of metazoans. There are 20 T-box genes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, three of which reportedly have postembryonic functions. We characterized two T-box genes, tbx-9 and tbx-8, that are phylogenetically related to each other. tbx-9 is expressed in a subset of embryonic cells that are precursors of the intestine, body-wall muscle, and hypodermis. The expression pattern of tbx-8 is markedly similar to that of tbx-9. Both tbx-9 mutants and tbx-8 mutants show incomplete penetrant morphogenetic defects in embryogenesis, but the malformations of the tbx-9 and tbx-8 mutants are observed in different parts of their bodies. In embryos with both tbx-9 and tbx-8 inactivated, the body structure is severely disorganized, more so than the sum of the separate mutant phenotypes. Further analysis shows that the hypodermis and body-wall muscle show abnormalities at the site of morphogenetic defects of these mutants. Together, these data indicate that tbx-9 and tbx-8 do not only contribute individually to formation of the hypodermis and body-wall muscle, but also suggests functional redundancy between tbx-9 and tbx-8 in embryonic morphogenesis.

^* Correspondence: E-mail: yandachi{at}lab.nig.ac.jp

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. R. Baugh, A. A. Hill, J. M. Claggett, K. Hill-Harfe, J. C. Wen, D. K. Slonim, E. L. Brown, and C. P. Hunter The homeodomain protein PAL-1 specifies a lineage-specific regulatory network in the C. elegans embryo Development, April 15, 2005; 132(8): 1843 - 1854. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]