Which Genes Make A Head?

Scientists are one step closer to understanding how complex organs can be regenerated, thanks to a study on head formation in frogs.

AsianScientist (Jul 16, 2014) – Scientists have uncovered the genetic mechanism underlying head formation in frogs. This research has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Previous studies have identified genes involved in head development such as the head-selector gene orthodenticle (otx). However, it was unclear how those genes interact with each other for head formation as a whole.

In this study, Dr. Yuuri Yasuoka from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University’s Marine Genomics Unit, introduced the so-called “head organizer cocktail”—several proteins required for head formation during early development of a fertilized egg—into frog embryos. This resulted in an additional head being formed on the ventral side, or the stomach side, of the embryo, indicating that the “head organizer cocktail” proteins were able to induce frog tissues to form a head.

He next went on to locate the “head organizer cocktail” proteins in the genome and study how they affect other genes for head formation. By using next-generation sequencing, Dr. Yasuoka and his team decoded the DNA sequences bound by the “head organizer cocktail” proteins and successfully created a genetic map of protein-binding regions in the genome. This study made it possible to evaluate how these proteins enhance and inhibit genes for head formation, providing detailed insight into the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression.

“Evolution continues forever and our understanding of it also forever remains within the boundary of speculation,” Dr. Yasuoka said. “What we can do is to collect as much information as possible about organisms for use in experiments and make the most use of scientific knowledge to fill in gaps in the evolutionary history of life.”

The article can be found at: Yasuoka et al. (2014) Occupancy of tissue-specific cis-regulatory modules by Otx2 and TLE/Groucho for embryonic head specification.

——

Source: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

Related Stories from Asian Scientist