Faculty Research 1990 - 1999

The mouse pudgy mutation disrupts Delta homologue Dll3 and initiation of early somite boundaries.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Keywords

Alternative Splicing, Amino Acid Sequence, Animal, Base Sequence, Chromosome Mapping, DNA, Complementary, Membrane Proteins/genetics/physiology, Mice, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Proteins/metabolism, Somites/physiology

First Page

274

Last Page

278

JAX Source

Nat Genet 1998 Jul;19(3):274-8

Abstract

Pudgy (pu) homozygous mice exhibit clear patterning defects at the earliest stages of somitogenesis, resulting in adult mice with severe vertebral and rib deformities. By positional cloning and complementation, we have determined that the pu phenotype is caused by a mutation in the delta-like 3 gene (Dll3), which is homologous to the Notch-ligand Delta in Drosophila. Histological and molecular marker analyses show that the pu mutation disrupts the proper formation of morphological borders in early somite formation and of rostral-caudal compartment boundaries within somites. Viability analysis also indicates an important role in early development. The results point to a key role for a Notch-signalling pathway in the initiation of patterning of vertebrate paraxial mesoderm.

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