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Darmin is a novel secreted protein expressed during endoderm development in Xenopus.

Author

  • Edgar Pera
  • Sarah L Martinez
  • John J Flanagan
  • Mariel Brechner
  • Oliver Wessely
  • E M De Robertis

Summary, in English

Endoderm development is an area of intense interest in developmental biology, but progress has been hampered by the lack of specific markers for differentiated endodermal cells. In an unbiased secretion cloning screen of Xenopus gastrula embryos we isolated a novel gene, designated Darmin. Darmin encodes a secreted protein of 56 kDa containing a peptidase M20 domain characteristic of the glutamate carboxypeptidase group of zinc metalloproteases. We also identified homologous Darmin genes in other eukaryotes and in prokaryotes suggesting that Darmin is the founding member of a family of evolutionarily conserved proteins. Xenopus Darmin showed zygotic expression in the early endoderm and later became restricted to the midgut. By secretion cloning of Xenopus cleavage-stage embryos we isolated another novel protein, designated Darmin-related (Darmin-r) due to its sequence similarity with Darmin. Darmin-r was maternally expressed and showed at later stages expression in the lens and pronephric glomus. The endoderm-specific expression of Darmin makes this gene a useful marker for the study of endoderm development.

Publishing year

2003

Language

English

Pages

147-152

Publication/Series

Gene Expression Patterns

Volume

3

Issue

2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Cell and Molecular Biology

Keywords

  • M20 peptidase
  • Darmin-related
  • Darmin
  • Endoderm
  • Gut
  • Lens
  • Kidney
  • Glutamate carboxypeptidase
  • Zinc metalloprotease
  • Endodermin
  • Secretion cloning
  • Xenopus

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1567-133X