First published online October 27, 2004
Development 131, 2206e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Patterning binocular vision
During development in animals with binocular vision, retinal ganglion cell
axons from each eye navigate through the optic nerve to the optic chiasm.
Here, some axons from the retinal area near the temple project to ipsilateral
targets; those from other retinal areas project to contralateral targets.
Herrera and colleagues now report that the transcription factor Foxd1 plays a
dual role in the formation of the mouse optic chiasm (see p.
5727). Their
examination of eye development in Foxd1-null embryos, and of
co-cultures of Foxd1-deficient retinas and chiasms, reveals that
Foxd1 loss disrupts the expression of Zic2 and EphB1, which
direct ipsilateral projection. Surprisingly, many fibres from all over the
mutant retinas project ipsilaterally or stall at the optic chiasm. Thus,
Foxd1, which is expressed in the retina and the chiasm, helps to specify the
outer, ventrotemporal area of the mouse retina and to pattern the brain region
where the optic chiasm forms.
Related articles in Development:
- Foxd1 is required for proper formation of the optic chiasm
- Eloísa Herrera, Riva Marcus, Suzanne Li, Scott E. Williams, Lynda Erskine, Eseng Lai, and Carol Mason
Development 2004 131: 5727-5739.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
