Isolation and characterization of posteriorly restricted genes in the zebrafish gastrula

Abstract

In order to understand anteroposterior axis formation in vertebrates, we have used subtractive hybridization to clone genes expressed posteriorly in the zebrafish gastrula-stage embryo. Here we report the initial characterization of eight clones isolated from this screen. We find that all eight genes are expressed in posteriorly restricted domains, suggesting that they are involved in regulating posterior development during zebrafish embryogenesis.