The miR-290 cluster is expressed in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and is important for the maintenance of pluripotency, but little is known about the mechanisms regulating the early embryonic microRNA cluster (EEmiRC) expression. Here we report the identification of a 332-bp intragenic enhancer (IE) able to modulate the transcription of the mouse EEmiRC locus, presumably through binding of transcription modulators like Oct3/4, Sox2 and CTCF. This IE

It is generally assumed that the characteristic deregionalized body plan of species with a snake-like morphology evolved through a corresponding homogenization of Hox gene expression domains along the primary axis. Here, we examine the expression of Hox genes in snake embryos and show that a collinear pattern of Hox expression is retained within the paraxial mesoderm of the trunk. Genes expressed at the anterior and most posterior, regionalized,

Despite the recent advances in molecular medicine and health care, cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. In 2006, nearly every other death in Germany resulted from disease of the circulatory system, and congenital heart diseases are thought to account for a high number of stillbirths and spontaneous abortions. Remarkable progress in basic research over the past decades has improved our

Retinoic acid (RA) is thought to be a key signaling molecule involved in limb bud patterning along the proximodistal or anteroposterior axes functioning through induction of Meis2 and Shh, respectively. Here, we utilize Raldh2-/- and Raldh3-/- mouse embryos lacking RA synthesis to demonstrate that RA signaling is not required for limb expression of Shh and Meis2. We demonstrate that RA action is required outside of the limb field in the body axis

The Group of Eight offers eight annual fellowships to early career researchers in Europe to work in Go8 universities for up to six months. Each Fellowship is worth AUD 20,000. The Fellowships are open to eligible researchers in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. The Go8 European Fellowship scheme recognises the importance of international contacts for early career researchers. It is envisaged

Distinct progenitor cell populations exist in cardiac mesoderm important for patterning of the heart. During heart tube formation in mouse, Tbx5 is expressed in progenitors located more laterally, whereas Isl1 and Fgf8 are expressed in progenitors located more medially. Signals that drive mesodermal progenitors into various cardiac lineages include Fgf8, which functions to induce Isl1. Studies in chick and zebrafish have shown that retinoic acid

Somitogenesis requires bilateral rhythmic segmentation of paraxial mesoderm along the antero-posterior axis. The location of somite segmentation depends on opposing signalling gradients of retinoic acid (generated by retinaldehyde dehydrogenase-2; Raldh2) anteriorly and fibroblast growth factor (FGF; generated by Fgf8) posteriorly. Retinoic-acid-deficient embryos exhibit somite left-right asymmetry, but it remains unclear how retinoic acid mediates

2 Ph.D. fellowships available through the EU Marie Curie EST program Eligibility criteria: * Candidates should NOT have more than 4 years of research or R&D experience (following the first university degree that allows them to enter a Ph.D. program) and NOT yet hold a Ph.D. * Candidates should NOT be Belgian (or, if Belgian, must have resided outside the EU for four of the last five years). * Candidates should NOT have resided in Belgium for more

Allele frequencies for eight tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) loci?CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, F13A01, FESFPS, vWA, F13B, LPL?were obtained from a population sample of 105?122 unrelated individuals born in Transylvania and Banat (Romania).

The gene encoding Bacillus subtilis UMP kinase (pyrH/smbA) is transcribed in vivo into a functional enzyme, which represents approximately 0.1% of total soluble proteins. The specific activity of the purified enzyme under optimal conditions is 25 units©mg-1 of protein. In the absence of GTP, the activity of B. subtilis enzyme is less than 10% of its maximum activity. Only dGTP and 3'-anthraniloyl-2'-deoxyguanosine-5'-triphosphate (Ant-dGTP) can