Dorsal-Ventral Patterning during Neural Induction inXenopus:Assessment of Spinal Cord Regionalization withxHB9,a Marker for the Motor Neuron Region

AbstractWhile the role of the notochord and floor plate in patterning the dorsal-ventral (D/V) axis of the neural tube is clearly established, relatively little is known about the earliest stages of D/V regionalization. In an effort to examine more closely the initial, preneural plate stages of regionalization along the prospective D/V neural axis, we have performed a series of explant experiments employingxHB9,a novel marker of the motor neuron region inXenopus.Using tissue recombinants and Keller explants we show that direct mesodermal contact is both necessary and sufficient for the initial induction ofxHB9in the motor neuron region. We also show that presumptive neural plate explants removed as early as midgastrulation and cultured in isolation are already specified to expressxHB9but do so in an inappropriate spatial pattern while identical explants are specified to express the floor plate markervhh-1with correct spatial patterning. Our data suggest that, in addition to floor plate signaling, continued interactions with the underlying mesoderm through neural tube stages are essential for proper spatial patterning of the motor neuron region