A Xenopus DNA microarray approach to identify novel direct BMP target genes involved in early embryonic development

Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs), a subgroup of the TGF-beta superfamily, were originally isolated from bone on the basis of their ability to induce ectopic bone development. While BMPs are involved in a wide range of developmental and physiological functions, very few vertebrate target genes in this pathway have been identified. To identify target genes regulated by the BMP growth factor family in Xenopus, large-scale microarray analyses were conducted to discover genes directly activated by this factor in dissociated animal cap tissues treated with a combination of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and BMP2. Keywords = Xenopus Keywords = BMP Keywords = microarray Keywords = development Keywords = target genes Keywords: parallel sample