Genes induced in Xenopus foregut endoderm by mesoderm

Foregut organogenesis is regulated by inductive interactions between the endoderm and the adjacent mesoderm. We identified genes induced in the foregut progenitors by the adjacent mesoderm. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of early foregut endoderm gene expression resulting from mesoderm induction and identified distinct classes of up-regulated genes during this process. Xenopus foregut endoderm explants cultured from Stages 15 to 23 either intact with mesoderm or as endoderm alone. Total RNA was isolated from the endoderm of these two culture conditions in quadruplicate and were subjected to Affymetrix microarray analysis.