Molecular mechanisms of cell fate specification

National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research

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Abstract

We collaborated with Larry Tabak's lab to study developmental functions of protein O-glycosylation in S. purpuratus embryos. We identified 13 SpGalNAc-T genes and analyses their expression patterns during development using whole-mount in situ hybridization. Developmental function of selected GalNac-Ts was analyzed by morpholine oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown of expression. One phenotype has been characterized in morphants in which SpGalNAc-T13 expression was attenuated. This results in a deficiency of embryonic skeleton and neurons, suggesting that mucin-type O-glycans play essential roles during embryonic development in S. purpuratus.