The cement gland marks the extreme anterior ectoderm of the Xenopus embryo, and is determined through the overlap of several positional domains. In order to understand how these positional cues activate cement gland differentiation, the promoter of Xag1, a marker of cement gland differentiation, was analyzed. Previous studies have shown that Xag1 expression can be activated by the anterior-specific transcription factor Otx2, but that this activation is indirect. 102 bp of upstream genomic Xag1 sequence restricts reporter gene expression specifically to the cement gland. Within this region, putative binding sites for Ets and ATF/CREB transcription factors are both necessary and sufficient to drive cement gland-specific expression, and cooperate to do so. Furthermore, while the putative ATF/CREB factor is activated by Otx2, a factor acting through the putative Ets-binding site is not. These results suggest that Ets-like and ATF/CREB-like family members play a role in regulating Xag1 expression in the cement gland, through integration of Otx2 dependent and independent pathways.
History of our journals
As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
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