MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF THE WNT-1 PROTOONCOGENE IN AMBYSTOMA-MEXICANUM (AXOLOTL) EMBRYOS

To analyze Wnt-1 expression during neurulation in urodele embryos, we have isolated a Wnt-1 cDNA clone, Awnt-1, from an Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl) neurula-stage cDNA library. Awnt-1 codes for a protein of 369 amino acids rich in cysteine residues, is preceded by a hydrophobic leader peptide sequence and contains four possible sites for N-linked glycosylation. The temporal expression profile of Awnt-1 was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Awnt-1 expression in the axolotl embryo is biphasic. Awnt-1 transcripts are found in early blastulae until gastrulation, are barely detectable during gastrulation, and are present again from neurulation until late embryogenesis. Transcripts are present before the midblastula transition, indicating that they might be of maternal origin. To localize Awnt-1 expression in embryos during the first phase of expression, early gastrulae were dissected by cutting along the animal-vegetal and future dorso-ventral axes and analyzed by RT-PCR. At the early gastrula stage Awnt-1 transcripts appear to be located in the future ventral region of the embryo. Hatching larvae no longer express Awnt-1. PCR reactions performed using cDNA library-phage DNA templates derived from whole neurulae versus embryos with the neuroectoderm removed suggest that, in the neurula, Awnt-1 transcripts are located in the neuroectoderm. This suggest that, as is the case for Wnt-1 in other vertebrates, Awnt-1 may be involved in neurogenesis. These results suggest that Wnt-1 has earlier roles in development than has been considered until now.