Global identification of retinoic acid regulated genes

Retinoic acid (RA) signaling plays a major role in controlling several developmental processes in vertebrate embryos. RA repression of caudal Fgf8 has emerged as a crucial mechanism through which RA controls body axis extension, somitogenesis, and spinal cord neurogenesis. The role of RA in Fgf8 repression is supported by mechanistic studies demonstrating direct RA repression through a nearby RA response element that recruits NCOR in an RA-dependent manner. RA is also required for balanced neuromesodermal progenitor differentiation needed for coordinated generation of mesodermal progenitors for somites and neural progenitors for spinal cord. As many pathways are controlled by RA, we performed RNA-seq analysis comparing wild-type embryos with Aldh1a2 mutants that lack the ability to produce RA. This analysis identified a few hundred genes whose expression is significantly altered when RA is absent, thus providing candidate genes for further analysis to discover RA-regulated genes essential for development. 2 samples were analyzed: one control and one test.