Xenopus nrp-1; nervous system

Xenopus neural ribonucleoprotein, Xl nrp-1, nucleic acid

Pictures from Anne Knecht, Richard Harland and Klaus Richter, text from Peter Good and Anne Knecht.

Developmental Northern Blot for nrp-1.

The cDNA corresponding to the nrp-1 gene was isolated in a screen for markers of the embryonic nervous system. The gene has a maternal component and is activated very early after gastrulation (Northern Blot).
Stage 13

Stage 18

Stage 26

By whole mount in situ hybridization, nrp-1 is first detectable as early as stage 13, when it is expressed throughout the neural plate except for the future floor plate region (Stage 13; dorsal view). At this stage, but not later, there is weak expression in non-neural tissues which may represent the considerable maternal component observed by Richter et al. (1988). As neurulation proceeds, nrp-1 continues to be expressed in the neural folds, with strongest expression anterior; it is more weakly expressed in broad stripes surrounding the brain and in a ring around the blastopore (Stage 18; dorsal view). During tailbud stages (Stage 26; lateral view) staining includes the entire central nervous system (CNS), including eyes and otic placodes, with weak staining in the tissue just behind the cement gland. The developing cranial ganglia and nerves express nrp-1 consecutively and transiently, such that it is expressed in the future trigeminal ganglion with associated ophthalmic and mandibular nerves at stage 20, then in the geniculate ganglion and facial nerve at stage 24, and finally in the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves and ganglia at stage 32. By stage 38 nrp-1 is no longer expressed in cranial nerves or otic vesicles, and spinal cord expression is weakened, but it is expressed strongly in the brain, eyes, epiphysis, and nasal pits. Thus nrp-1 represents an extremely general neural marker.
Tadpole brain

In a tadpole brain, nrp-1 is expressed in cells that line the ventricles. These cells probably represent proliferating cells. Thus, expression of nrp-1 is correlated with proliferation both in an embryonic and a tadpole brain.

Search PubMed for other papers on Xenopus nrp-1

Reference;Knecht, A.K., Good, P.J., Dawid, I.B., and Harland, R.M. (1995)Dorsal-Ventral Patterning and Differentiation of Noggin-Induced NeuralTissue in the Absence of Mesoderm Development 121, 1927-1936.
Richter, K., P.J. Good, and I.B. Dawid. 1990. A developmentally regulated, nervous system-specific gene in Xenopus encodes a putative RNA-binding protein. The New Biologist, 2:556-565.
Richter, K., H. Grunz, and I.B. Dawid. 1988. Gene expression in the embryonic nervous system of Xenopus laevis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:8086-8090.
Plasmid name; pNPG152 (Originally isolated as 24-39.) (download restriction map)
nrp-1a cDNA in pBluescriptKS
download sequnce
Genbank accession number; M34894. (A highly related gene, nrp-1b, is present in Xenopus; M34895).
For in situ probe cut with XbaI and transcribe with T3
Available from Peter Good

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