Role of ET, a New T Domain Protein, in Xenopus Eye Development

饶博士的长期目标是了解脊椎动物眼睛发育的分子机制。该基金支持的研究重点是ET的功能研究，ET是最近在Rao博士的实验室发现的非洲爪蟾蛙中的一种T结构域蛋白。T结构域是在小鼠T基因产物中首次发现的DNA结合结构域。在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中，T结构域蛋白作为一个新的发育调节因子家族正在出现。非洲爪蟾胚胎为研究T结构域蛋白的作用提供了一个强有力的系统。Rao博士之前的研究提出了一种假设，即非洲爪蟾胚胎中存在多种T结构域蛋白，其中一些可能与眼睛发育有关。饶博士的初步研究已经分离出ET基因。通过原位杂交，发现ET信使RNA存在于视网膜和水泥腺的原基中。为了研究ET的功能作用，Rao博士的团队将确定ET蛋白在爪蟾胚胎中的分布，解剖ET蛋白的功能域，并研究ET在眼睛发育中的作用。我们将整合这些实验的结果，以揭示ET在脊椎动物眼睛发育中的作用。本研究的完成将进一步加深我们对脊椎动物眼睛发育的分子机制的理解。

IBN 9723173 PI: RAO Dr. Rao's long term goal is to understand molecular mechanisms underlying vertebrate eye development. The focus of the research supported by this grant is on functional studies of ET, a T domain protein in the Xenopus frog recently identified in Dr. Rao's lab. The T domain is a DNA binding domain first characterized in the mouse T gene product. T domain proteins are emerging as a new family of developmental regulators essential in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Xenopus embryos provide a powerful system for studying the roles of T domain proteins. Previous work by Dr. Rao led to the hypothesis that there were multiple T domain proteins in Xenopus embryos, and that some of these could be involved in eye development. Dr. Rao's preliminary studies have resulted in the isolation of the ET gene. By in situ hybridization, ET messenger RNA was found to be present in the primordia for the retina and the cement gland. To study the functional role of ET, Dr. Rao's group will determine the distribution of ET protein in Xenopus embryos, dissect the functional domains of the ET protein, and investigate the role of ET in eye development. Results from the proposed experiments will be integrated to reveal the role of ET in vertebrate eye development. Accomplishment of the proposed research will further our understanding of molecular mechanisms of vertebrate eye development.