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Fig. 1. Antisense depletion of maternal FoxH1: 4 ng FoxH1 antisense oligo injected
into oocytes causes a depletion of FoxH1 mRNA in oocytes that is
maintained through early embryogenesis. (A,B) Control and FoxH1-depleted
oocytes and embryos derived from the same batch of oocytes were cultured to
the stages shown, frozen, and assayed by real-time RT-PCR. Expression levels
were normalized to ODC. (A) No wave of zygotic transcription of Foxh1
is seen in control or FoxH1-depleted embryos at the gastrula and neurula
stages. (B) The related family member Fast3 is a zygotic transcript, expressed
in control and FoxH1-depleted embryos, at the same time as the marker of the
mid-blastula transition, GS17. Oocytes and embryos were cultured, frozen, and
assayed by real-time RT-PCR. Expression levels were normalized to ornithine
decarboxylase (ODC). (C) ARE-luciferase activity is induced in animal caps by
activin protein (10 ng/ml), and this induction is severely inhibited in
FoxH1-depleted animal caps at the early gastrula stage. (D) ARE-luciferase
activity is induced by endogenous nodal signaling in the vegetal (DNA Veg), or
equatorial region (DNA EQ) of control embryos at the early gastrula stage.
This activation is significantly reduced in FoxH1-depleted explants. (E) FoxH1
antisense oligo causes dose-responsive effects on head and axis formation.
Oocytes injected with 2.5 and 3 ng of oligo develop as embryos with a headless
phenotype. (F) The morphology of a FoxH1-depleted embryo at the swimming
tadpole stage compared to control. (G) In histological sections, headless,
FoxH1-depleted embryos at the late tailbud stage embryos have abnormal dorsal
axes, lacking notochords and with somites fused across the midline (arrow).
(H) Tailbud stage wild-type and FoxH1 embryos showing Xgal labeled progeny of
one ventral cell injected at the four-cell stage, at the equator. Although
FoxH1 depletion reduces the length of the embryo, the progeny of the ventral
cell are in the same posterior and trunk locations as the control.