Spatially restricted expression of PlOtp, a Paracentrotus lividus orthopedia-related homeobox gene, is correlated with oral ectodermal patterning and skeletal morphogenesis in late-cleavage sea urchin embryos.

Several homeobox genes are expressed in the sea urchin embryo but their roles in development have yet to be elucidated. Of particular interest are homologues of homeobox genes that in mouse and Drosophila are involved in patterning the developing central nervous system (CNS). Here, we report the cloning of an orthopedia (Otp)-related gene from Paracentrotus lividus, PlOtp. Otp is a single copy zygotic gene that presents a unique and highly restricted expression pattern. Transcripts were first detected at the mid-gastrula stage in two pairs of oral ectoderm cells located in a ventrolateral position, overlying primary mesenchyme cell (PMC) clusters. Increases in both transcript abundance and the number of Otp-expressing cells were observed at prism and pluteus stages. Otp transcripts are symmetrically distributed in a few ectodermal cells of the oral field. Labelled cells were observed close to sites of active skeletal rod growth (tips of the budding oral and anal arms), and at the juxtaposition of stomodeum and foregut. Chemicals known to perturb PMC patterning along animal-vegetal and oral-aboral axes altered the pattern of Otp expression. Vegetalization by LiCl caused a shift in Otp-expressing cells toward the animal pole, adjacent to shifted PMC aggregates. Nickel treatment induced expression of the Otp gene in an increased number of ectodermal cells, which adopted a radialized pattern. Finally, ectopic expression of Otp mRNA affected patterning along the oral-aboral axis and caused skeletal abnormalities that resembled those exhibited by nickel-treated embryos. From these results, we conclude that the Otp homeodomain gene is involved in short-range cell signalling within the oral ectoderm for patterning the endoskeleton of the larva through epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.