ERK2 is not required for ES cells to efficiently produce neurons under defined conditions.

<p>(A) Immunocytochemistry analysis of wild-type, <i>Erk2</i>^+/− and <i>Erk2</i>^−/− cultures after 5 days of neural induction for neuronal marker βIII Tubulin immunoreactivity (red). DNA is counterstained with DAPI in blue. (B) Gene expression analysis of cultures following 5 and 10 days of neural induction. Markers of pluripotency (<i>Oct4</i>, <i>Nanog</i>, and <i>Rex1</i>) and neural tissue (<i>NeuroD3, Ngn2</i>, and <i>Mash1</i>) are shown. Error bars represent the standard deviation from the mean of biological replicates.