California Institute of Technology Pasadena, Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, 139-74, CA 91125, United States.
Dev Biol. 2015 Jan 15;397(2):282-92. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2014.09.022. Epub 2014 Oct 5.
Members of the Sox family of transcription factors play a variety of critical developmental roles in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Whereas SoxBs and SoxEs are involved in neural and neural crest development, respectively, far less is known about members of the SoxC subfamily. To address this from an evolutionary perspective, we compare expression and function of SoxC genes in neural crest cells and their derivatives in lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a basal vertebrate, to frog (Xenopus laevis). Analysis of transcript distribution reveals conservation of lamprey and X. laevis SoxC expression in premigratory neural crest, branchial arches, and cranial ganglia. Moreover, morpholino-mediated loss-of-function of selected SoxC family members demonstrates essential roles in aspects of neural crest development in both organisms. The results suggest important and conserved functions of SoxC genes during vertebrate evolution and a particularly critical, previously unrecognized role in early neural crest specification.
Sox 转录因子家族的成员在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中都发挥着多种关键的发育作用。虽然 SoxBs 和 SoxEs 分别参与神经和神经嵴的发育，但 SoxC 亚家族成员的了解要少得多。为了从进化的角度解决这个问题，我们比较了在有颚脊椎动物七鳃鳗（Petromyzon marinus）和青蛙（Xenopus laevis）的神经嵴细胞及其衍生物中 SoxC 基因的表达和功能。转录本分布分析显示，七鳃鳗和 X. laevis SoxC 的表达在迁移前神经嵴、鳃弓和颅神经节中具有保守性。此外，选择的 SoxC 家族成员的 morpholino 介导的功能丧失实验证明了它们在两个生物体的神经嵴发育的各个方面都具有重要作用。结果表明，SoxC 基因在脊椎动物进化过程中具有重要且保守的功能，并且在早期神经嵴特化过程中具有特别关键但以前未被认识到的作用。
