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Summary: BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Molecular Components of the Endoderm
Specification Pathway in Xenopus tropicalis
Anjali D'Souza,1
Monica Lee,1
Nicola Taverner,2
Julia Mason,2
Samantha Carruthers,2
James C. Smith,2
Enrique Amaya,2
Nancy Papalopulu,2
and Aaron M. Zorn1,2
*
Xenopus laevis has been instrumental in elucidating a conserved molecular pathway that regulates vertebrate
endoderm specification. However, loss-of-function analysis is required to resolve the precise function of the genes
involved. For such analysis, antisense oligos and possibly forward genetics are likely to be more effective in the
diploid species Xenopus tropicalis than in the pseudotetraploid Xenopus laevis. Here we have isolated most of the
tropicalis genes in the endoderm specification pathway, specifically, tVegT, tMixer, tMix, tBix, tGata6, tSox17 ,
tSox17 , tFoxA1, tHex, and tCerberus, which lack the redundant copies that are found in laevis. In situ hybridization
analysis has revealed identical expression patterns between the orthologous tropicalis and laevis endoderm genes,
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