Verslag – Rapport – Bericht – Report - GSKE - FMRE

A review on the structure and evolution of Dmrt genes and of their embryonic expression pattern
across vertebrate species, summarizing recent findings on their function and highlighting the important
role of a subgroup of them including Dmrt3, Dmrt4 and Dmrt5 in neurogenesis and patterning
of the developing nervous system has been written. This revue, entitled “Expanding roles for the
evolutionarily conserved Dmrt sex transcriptional regulators during vertebrate embryogenesis”
is under revision for Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (CMLS).
Besides our work on cortical development, we have also been engaged in the study of the molecular
mechanisms that control spinal cord neurogenesis. Our work fouses on two members of the Prdm
transcription factor family. This family has recently spawned considerable interest as it has been implicated
in fundamental aspects of cellular differentiation and exhibits expanding ties to human diseases (Fog
et al., 2011 ; Hohenauer et al., 2012). In an in situ hybridization screen, we recently identified in the frog
embryo several uncharacterized members of this family, including Prdm12 and Prdm13. These genes
are expressed in restricted progenitors of the developing hindbrain and spinal cord, which suggests a
function for them in neuronal specification. As for Prdm12, we have obtained evidence indicating that it
plays a crucial role in spinal cord V1 interneuron (IN) specification. The precise roles and mechanisms
of action of Prdm12 is currently under investigation. As for Prdm13, our recent data indicate that it
constitutes a novel downstream target of Ptf1a, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proneural factor that
determines GABAergic neuronal fate in the dorsal spinal cord. Its importance downstream of Ptf1a is
currently under study.
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Verslag – Rapport – Report 2012