No abstract

Tbx2 is a member of the T-box transcription factor gene family,and is expressed in a variety of tissues and organs during embryogenesis. In the developing heart, Tbx2 is expressed in the outflow tract, inner curvature, atrioventricular canal and inflow tract, corresponding to a myocardial zone that is excluded from chamber differentiation at 9.5 days post coitus (dpc). We have used targeted mutagenesis in mice to investigate Tbx2 function. Mice heterozygous for a Tbx2 null mutation appear normal but homozygous embryos reveal a crucial role for Tbx2 during cardiac development. Morphological defects are observed in development of the atrioventricular canal and septation of the outflow tract. Molecular analysis reveals that Tbx2 is required to repress chamber differentiation in the atrioventricular canal at 9.5 dpc. Analysis of homozygous mutants also highlights a role for Tbx2 during hindlimb digit development. Despite evidence that TBX2 negatively regulates the cell cycle control genes Cdkn2a, Cdkn2b and Cdkn1a in cultured cells, there is no evidence that loss of Tbx2 function during mouse development results in increased levels of p19ARF, p16INK4a,p15INK4b or p21 expression in vivo, nor is there evidence for a genetic interaction between Tbx2 and p53.

The T-box genes Tbx4 and Tbx5 have been shown to have key functions in the specification of the identity of the vertebrate forelimb (Tbx5) and hindlimb (Tbx4). Here we show that in zebrafish, Tbx5 has an additional early function that precedes the formation of the limb bud itself. Functional knockdown of zebrafish tbx5 through the use of an antisense oligonucleotide resulted in a failure to initiate fin bud formation, leading to the complete loss of pectoral fins. The function of the tbx5 gene in the development of zebrafish forelimbs seems to involve the directed migration of individual lateral-plate mesodermal cells into the future limb-bud-producing region. The primary defect seen in the tbx5-knockdown phenotype is similar to the primary defects described in known T-box-gene mutants such as the spadetail mutant of zebrafish and the Brachyury mutant of the mouse, which both similarly exhibit an altered migration of mesodermal cells. A common function for many of the T-box genes might therefore be in mediating the proper migration and/or changes in adhesive properties of early embryonic cells.

Background: Recombinant inbred (RI) strains are an important resource for mapping complex traits in many species. While large RI panels are available for Arabidopsis, maize, C. elegans, and Drosophila, mouse RI panels typically consist of fewer than 30 lines. This is a severe constraint on the power and precision of mapping efforts and greatly hampers analysis of epistatic interactions.

The T-box genes constitute an evolutionarily conserved family of putative transcription factors which are expressed in discrete domains during embryogenesis, suggesting that they may play roles in inductive interactions. Members have been identified by virtue of their homology to the prototypical T-box gene, T or Brachyury, which is required for mesoderm formation and axial elongation during embryogenesis. We have previously reported the discovery of six new mouse T-box genes, Tbx1-Tbx6, and described the expression patterns of Tbx1-Tbx5 (Bollag et al., 1994; Agulnik et al., 1996; Chapman et al., 1996; Gibson-Brown et al., 1996). We have obtained cDNA clones encoding the full-length Tbx6 protein from screens of gastrulation-stage mouse cDNA libraries and determined the spatial and temporal distribution of Tbx6 transcripts during embryogenesis. The gene codes for a 1.9-kb transcript with an open reading frame coding for a 540-amino acid protein, with a predicted molecular weight of 59 kDa. Tbx6 maps to chromosome 7 and does not appear to be linked to any known mutation. Unlike other members of the mouse T-box gene family which are expressed in a wide variety of tissues derived from all germ layers, Tbx6 expression is quite restricted. Tbx6 transcripts are first detected in the gastrulation stage embryo in the primitive streak and newly recruited paraxial mesoderm. Later in development, Tbx6 expression is restricted to presomitic, paraxial mesoderm and to the tail bud, which replaces the streak as the source of mesoderm. Expression in the tail bud persists until 12. 5 days postcoitus. Tbx6 expression thus overlaps that of Brachyury in the primitive streak and tail bud, although Brachyury is expressed earlier in the primitive streak. Brachyury is also expressed in a second domain, the node and notochord, that is not shared with Tbx6. The onset of Tbx6 expression is not affected in homozygous null Brachyury mutant embryos at 7.5 days postcoitus. However, Tbx6 expression is extinguished in mutant embryos as soon as the Brachyury phenotype becomes evident at 8.5 days postcoitus, indicating that the continued expression of Tbx6 is directly or indirectly dependent upon Brachyury expression.