A provisional regulatory gene network for specification of endomesoderm in the sea urchin embryo.

We present the current form of a provisional DNA sequence-based regulatory gene network that explains in outline how endomesodermal specification in the sea urchin embryo is controlled. The model of the network is in a continuous process of revision and growth as new genes are added and new experimental results become available; see http://www.its.

Patchy interspecific sequence similarities efficiently identify positive cis-regulatory elements in the sea urchin.

We demonstrate that interspecific sequence conservation can provide a systematic guide to the identification of functional cis-regulatory elements within a large expanse of genomic DNA. The test was carried out on the otx gene of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. This gene plays a major role in the gene regulatory network that underlies endomesoderm specification in the embryo.

New computational approaches for analysis of cis-regulatory networks.

The investigation and modeling of gene regulatory networks requires computational tools specific to the task. We present several locally developed software tools that have been used in support of our ongoing research into the embryogenesis of the sea urchin. These tools are especially well suited to iterative refinement of models through experimental and computational investigation.

A genomic regulatory network for development.

Development of the body plan is controlled by large networks of regulatory genes. A gene regulatory network that controls the specification of endoderm and mesoderm in the sea urchin embryo is summarized here. The network was derived from large-scale perturbation analyses, in combination with computational methodologies, genomic data, cis-regulatory analysis, and molecular embryology.