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First published online December 8, 2005

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Vg1: a mystery solved

Twenty years ago, researchers discovered that the mRNA for Vg1, a transforming growth factor ß family member, localizes to the vegetal cytoplasm of Xenopus oocytes, making Vg1 a candidate for the mesoderm-inducing signal released by vegetal cells. However, its role in vivo has remained mysterious until now. On p. 15, Birsoy and colleagues now show that maternal Vg1 is an essentially required signalling molecule during Xenopus development. They report that gastrulation is delayed, and that anterior and dorsal development is reduced, in embryos depleted of Vg1 using an antisense oligonucleotide. The mystery of the role of Vg1 in vivo arose, they explain, because the original Vg1 clone encodes proline at position 20. This means it is inefficiently processed to active Vg1 in vivo and so fails to rescue Vg1-depleted embryos. By showing that a Vg1 allele with serine at this position rescues Vg1-depleted embryos, the researchers demonstrate conclusively that Vg1 is an essential maternal regulator of embryonic patterning.

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Related articles in Development:

Vg1 is an essential signaling molecule in Xenopus development

Bilge Birsoy, Matt Kofron, Kyle Schaible, Chris Wylie, and Janet Heasman
Development 2006 133: 15-20. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) 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 Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?