Development
Author: Florencia Foitzick | Email: florenciafoitzick@gmail.com
Florencia Foitzick 1°, Marcelo Rubinstein 1°, Lucia F Franchini 1°
1° INGEBI-CONICET (Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular Dr. Héctor N. Torres)
Delta-like 1 (Dll1) is the gene encoding for DELTA1 protein, the canonical ligand of Notch receptor and a key player in the notch signaling pathway. Dll1 is involved in neurogenesis during embryo development and defines the properties of the adult nervous system. Understanding Dll1 transcriptional regulation during development and its variations across evolution is key to unravel the genetic basis of the extant brain diversity among species, particularly in our evolutionary lineage.
In order to do this, we study different non coding genetic elements with high conservation among vertebrates. To assess the ability of these elements to act as transcriptional enhancers, we generated transgenic mice carrying reporter proteins under the control of these elements and determined their expression pattern both spatially and temporally. At the same time, we evaluated the in vivo function by generating knock-out mice harboring deletions of these enhancers. Using qPCR we found that several of these deletions produce a reduced Dll1 expression. RNAseq showed that many genes potentially controlled by this pathway were either up or down regulated.