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Development

Dividing the diencephalon

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 5, page 903 (2004)Cite this article

In the early chick brain, the ZLI initially manifests itself as a wedge-shaped gap in the expression domain of the lunatic fringe gene. This wedge subsequently collapses into a narrow strip and begins to express the signalling molecule sonic hedgehog (SHH). Kiecker and Lumsden found that SHH-signal transducers and downstream targets of SHH are expressed on either side of the ZLI, confirming that SHH signalling is operational in this area.

Because of the pivotal role of SHH in embryonic development, global Shh knockouts in mice have not been informative about its specific role at the ZLI. Therefore, the authors used in ovo electroporation to manipulate SHH signalling activity in a spatiotemporally restricted manner in chick embryos, and they examined the effects of SHH gain and loss of function on the expression of various homeobox genes in the diencephalon.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Kiecker, C. & Lumsden, A. Hedgehog signaling from the ZLI regulates diencephalic regional identity. Nature Neurosci. 7, 1242–1249 (2004)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Puelles, L. & Rubenstein, J. L. Forebrain gene expression domains and the evolving prosomeric model. Trends Neurosci. 26, 469–476 (2003)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gómez-Skarmeta et al. Half a century of neuronal prepatterning: the story of a few bristles and many genes. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 4, 587–598 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Authors
  1. Heather Wood
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Wood, H. Dividing the diencephalon. Nat Rev Neurosci 5, 903 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1560

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