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First published online 14 March 2007
doi: 10.1242/dev.000836

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material All Versions of this Article: dev.000836v1 134/8/1561    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development 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 Morimoto, M. Articles by Saga, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Morimoto, M. Articles by Saga, Y.

The negative regulation of Mesp2 by mouse Ripply2 is required to establish the rostro-caudal patterning within a somite

Mitsuru Morimoto^1,*,, Nobuo Sasaki^1,, Masayuki Oginuma², Makoto Kiso¹, Katsuhide Igarashi³, Ken-ichi Aizaki³, Jun Kanno³ and Yumiko Saga^1,2,

¹ Division of Mammalian Development, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima 411-8540, Japan.
² SOKENDAI, Yata 1111, Mishima 411-8540, Japan.
³ Cellular and Molecular Toxicology Division, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1 Kamiyoga, Setagayaku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan.

Author for correspondence (e-mail: ysaga{at}lab.nig.ac.jp)

Accepted 14 February 2007

The Mesp2 transcription factor plays essential roles in segmental border formation and in the establishment of rostro-caudal patterning within a somite. A possible Mesp2 target gene, Ripply2, was identified by microarray as being downregulated in the Mesp2-null mouse. Ripply2 encodes a putative transcriptional co-repressor containing a WRPW motif. We find that Mesp2 binds to the Ripply2 gene enhancer, indicating that Ripply2 is a direct target of Mesp2. We then examined whether Ripply2 is responsible for the repression of genes under the control of Mesp2 by generating a Ripply2-knockout mouse. Unexpectedly, Ripply2-null embryos show a rostralized phenotype, in contrast to Mesp2-null mice. Gene expression studies together with genetic analyses further revealed that Ripply2 is a negative regulator of Mesp2 and that the loss of the Ripply2 gene results in the prolonged expression of Mesp2, leading to a rostralized phenotype via the suppression of Notch signaling. Our study demonstrates that a Ripply2-Mesp2 negative-feedback loop is essential for the periodic generation of the rostro-caudal polarity within a somite.

Key words: Somitogenesis, Notch signaling, Presomitic mesoderm, Segmentation

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Ripple effect in somite patterning

Development 2007 134: e803. [Full Text]  

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