Fig. 5. Early Xiro function is required for neural plate formation. (A) Drawing of a dorsal view of a Xenopus embryo at the neurula stage. Xiro overexpression on the right side (injected with Xiro1 mRNA) expands the neural plate (np). This expansion is associated with a reduction of the adjacent neural crest territory (nc). (B) Xenopus embryo injected with Xiro1 and lacZ mRNAs. Compare the size of the neural plate, as determined by expression of the Sox2 marker, in the uninjected left side with the injected right side (black arrowhead; green, X-gal-staining to reveal injected side). (C) Interference with early Xiro function using a dominant negative construct suppresses neural differentiation on the injected side (black arrowhead; brown, Myc staining, which reveals localization of dominant negative protein). (Data taken from Gómez-Skarmeta et al., 1998; Gómez-Skarmeta et al., 2001; Bellefroid et al., 1998.) White arrowheads in B,C indicate the position of the midline of the neural plate.
