Conserved role of Ovo in germline development in mouse and Drosophila
نویسندگان
چکیده
Ovo, which encodes a transcription factor with Zn-finger domains, is evolutionarily conserved among animals. In Drosophila, in addition to its zygotic function for egg production, maternal ovo activity is required in primordial germ cells (PGCs) for expression of germline genes such as vasa and nanos. In this study, we found that maternal Ovo accumulates in PGC nuclei during embryogenesis. In these cells, ovo serves a dual function: activation of genes expressed predominantly in PGCs, and conversely suppression of somatic genes. Reduction of ovo activity in PGCs makes them unable to develop normally into germ cells of both sexes. In mice, knockout of the ovo ortholog, Ovol2, which is expressed in PGCs, decreases the number of PGCs during early embryogenesis. These data strongly suggest that ovo acts as part of an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that regulates germline development in animals.
منابع مشابه
ovo, a Drosophila gene required for ovarian development, is specifically expressed in the germline and shares most of its coding sequences with shavenbaby, a gene involved in embryo patterning
Genetic analyses of Drosophila oogenesis have revealed the central role of ovo, a gene required for differentiation of the female germline. A number of recessive ovo mutations also affect the shavenbaby (svb) function required for late embryo patterning, suggesting a tight structural link between ovo and svb. By using various genomic probes for in situ hybridization to wild type and mutant embr...
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