The dorsal root ganglia (DRG) derive from a population of migrating neural crest cells that coalesce laterally to the neural tube. As the DRG matures, discrete cell types emerge from a pool of differentiating progenitor cells. To identify genes that regulate sensory genesis and differentiation, we have designed screens to identify members from families of known regulatory molecules such as receptor tyrosine kinases, and generated full-length and subtractive cDNA libraries between immature and mature DRG for identifying novel genes not previously implicated in DRG development. Several genes were identified in these analyses that belong to important regulatory gene families. Quantitative PCR confirmed differential expression of candidate cDNAs identified from the subtraction/differential screening. In situ hybridization further validated dynamic expression of several cDNAs identified in our screens. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining specific and general screening approaches for isolating key regulatory genes involved in the genesis and differentiation of discrete cell types and tissues within the classic embryonic chick model system. Developmental Dynamics 229:618 -629, 2004.
One of the most intriguing cell populations in the developing embryo is the neural crest which undergo an epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transformation as they delaminate from the neural tube and migrate along stereotyped trajectories throughout the embryo. In the cranial region they contribute to the cranial ganglia, and much of the mesectoderm of the face. In the trunk, their derivatives include the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sympathetic ganglia (SG). Our lab has been interested in the cellular and molecular interactions that regulate the behavior of neural crest cells as they migrate through the trunk to form the DRG and SG. We have been imaging migrating neural crest cells in an explant system we developed, in combination with in ovo electroporation of various gain‐and loss‐of function constructs in order to identify the mechanisms mediating the differentiation of different cell types within the DRG and the cues that sculpt the emergence of the chain of primary and secondary SG. The data I will present identifies mechanisms mediating segregation of neural crest cells into discrete SG and evidence for a novel, prespecified population of neural crest cells that gives rise to a specific subset of cells within the DRG.
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