Identification of cis-regulatory elements involved in transcriptional regulation of the sea urchin SpFoxB gene.

The SpFoxB gene is transiently expressed first in the mesoderm, then in the endoderm and oral ectoderm during sea urchin gastrulation. Perturbations of a number of proteins involved in endomesoderm specification have been shown to alter the mRNA levels of SpFoxB, but the cis-regulatory elements required for expression of SpFoxB have not been examined. In order to investigate this, we have screened the SpFoxB gene for sequences that can drive its expression.