Pelegri F, Maischein H M
Max-Planck Institut fur Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35/111, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Mech Dev. 1998 Sep;77(1):63-74. doi: 10.1016/s0925-4773(98)00132-4.
We report the molecular cloning and expression of the zebrafish tcf-3 homologue and study its function and that of zebrafish betacat in dorsoventral patterning. Overexpression of mutant zTcf-3 products and Cadherin leads to a reduction in the expression of the dorsal-specific genes goosecoid and chording at the blastula stages, indicating a conserved role for betacat and tcf-3 in zebrafish dorsal axis induction. Later during gastrulation, overexpression of these same products leads to the ectopic expression of dorsal-specific genes in the marginal zone and the induction of ectopic axes, suggesting an additional role for betacat and Tcf-3 at these later stages in the repression of dorsal fates.
