Feryal Elhorr

11/21/10
Derriere
Not many genes usually have such an elaborate-sounding name as Derriere. But

seeing how relatively important it is to the development of most of the body, maybe it

deserves it. Derriere, however, is not technically a gene. It is a member of the

Transcription Growth Factor –Beta (TGF –B) superfamily. It controls the correct

formation of everything from the neck down, including left-right asymmetry. Like many

ligands in the body, it is only one part of a complicated system without which the body as

we know it could not have been formed.

Derriere is found in the frog species Xenopus Tropicalis. Humans have an

analog of it called Growth Differentiation Factor-3 (GDF3). These are coded by the

GDF3 gene on chromosome 12. In humans, it is near genes such as klf2, which has to do

with cell survival and proliferation, and eps15l1, which has a role in epidermal growth.

The gene coding for Derriere is 1627 base pairs long, while Derriere itself is made up of

354 amino acids. In its sequence, it is about 80% identical to the Vg1 protein.

Before midblastula transition (MBT), the step where zygotic gene transcription

starts in embryo formation, Derriere cannot be found except as a zygotic transcript. MBT

happens at stage 8 of formation, and expression is first detected immediately after at

stage 8.5. From there, its levels grow until they reach their highest point at stage 9.5, then

decline at stage 13, towards the end of gastrulation. Derriere is expressed in the endoderm

above the blastopore, the mesoderm beneath it, and in the vegetal cells also beneath it.

Though levels are a little higher on the dorsal side; it is pretty much expressed evenly

in all the marginal zone.

Through various kinds of experiments, Derriere was shown to be a general
posterior mesoderm inducer. In one of these, scientists overexpressed its mRNA in the

dorsal and ventral marginal zones in a blastomere at the four-cell stage (though not at the

same time). They found that it could induce both dorsal and ventral mesoderm without

favoring one over the other. Instead of focusing on more specific mesoderm markers, it

mostly activated more general ones like xbra. Whether it induced ventral or dorsal

mesoderm seemed to depend on its location and the chemical cues surrounding it.

Injected ventrally, it expanded ventral markers and induced ventral mesoderm; and

injected dorsally, it expanded dorsal markers and induced dorsal mesoderm. And because

it expands posterior dorsal and ventral mesoderm, it necessarily inhibits anterior

formation, such as head formation.

Another experiment from researchers at Kyoto University provides evidence that

Derriere is also involved in left-right asymmetry. They assigned eight regions to a 16-

cell-stage embryo, four to the left (L1–L4) and four to the right (R1–R4). In a normal

Xenopus embryo, the tract from the heart that carries blood outward bends toward the

right, while the gut coils counterclockwise. When they injected wild-type Derriere into

R3, these directions were reversed in almost all the embryos that were injected. R2 and

R1 injection produced similar results. However, injecting wild-type Derriere into regions

L1–L3 had little effect. These results suggest that Derriere plays a part in left-right

asymmetry, with its effects being exerted on the left side. Since injection elicited no

reaction from there, there must have already been Derriere acting on that side. For the

right side to elicit the reaction it did in response to injection, there must not have been

Derriere located there originally, or at least not being able to employ its effects there.

Though these are not the only experiments done with the intent of piecing
together Derriere’s function, they are some of the more important ones. Research is still

ongoing. With its power to induce mesoderm that later in the body’s development

becomes muscle and connective tissue, Derriere is a promising resource for treating

mesodermal-related diseases.

Sources
Eimon M. Peter, & Harland M. Richard (July 1, 2002) Effects of heterodimerization and
proteolytic processing on Derriere and Nodal activity: implications for mesoderm
induction in Xenopus. Development, 129 Retrieved from:
dev.biologists.org/content/129/13/3089.full

Hiroshi Hanafusa, Norihisa Masuyama, Morioh Kusakabe, Hiroshi Shibuya, Esuke

Nishida (July 17, 2000) The TGF-B family member derriere is involved in regulation of
the establishment of left-right asymmetry. EMBO reports, 1 Retrieved from:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1083684/