Analysis of the Transcription Regulatory Mechanism of Otx During the Development of the Sensory Vesicle in Ciona intestinalis.

Establishment of the anterior-posterior axis is an important event in the development of bilateral animals. A homeodomain transcription factor, Otx, is important for the formation of the anterior part of the embryo, and its mRNA is expressed in a continuous manner in a wide range of animals. This pattern of expression is thought to be important for the formation of anterior neural structures, but the mechanism that regulates Otx expression remains largely unknown.

Continuous expression of Otx in the anterior neural lineage is supported by different transcriptional regulatory mechanisms during the development of Halocynthia roretzi.

The process of establishing the anterior-posterior axis is an important event in the development of bilateral animals. Otx, which encodes a homeodomain transcription factor, is continuously expressed in the anterior part of the embryo in a wide range of animals. This pattern of expression is thought to be important for the formation of anterior neural structures, but the regulatory mechanism that sustains the expression is not known.

The amphioxus genome illuminates vertebrate origins and cephalochordate biology.

Cephalochordates, urochordates, and vertebrates evolved from a common ancestor over 520 million years ago. To improve our understanding of chordate evolution and the origin of vertebrates, we intensively searched for particular genes, gene families, and conserved noncoding elements in the sequenced genome of the cephalochordate Branchiostoma floridae, commonly called amphioxus or lancelets. Special attention was given to homeobox genes, opsin genes, genes involved in neural crest development, nuclear receptor genes, genes encoding components of the endocrine and immune systems, and conserved cis-regulatory enhancers.