Clock regulatory elements control cyclic expression of Lunatic fringe during somitogenesis. Author Susan Cole, John Levorse, Shirley Tilghman, Thomas Vogt Publication Year 2002 Type Journal Article Abstract Somitogenesis requires a segmentation clock and Notch signaling. Lunatic fringe (Lfng) expression in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cycles in the posterior PSM, is refined in the segmenting somite to the rostral compartment, and is required for segmentation. We identify distinct cis-acting regulatory elements for each aspect of Lfng expression. Fringe clock element 1 (FCE1) represents a conserved 110 bp region that is necessary to direct cyclic Lfng RNA expression in the posterior PSM. Mutational analysis of E boxes within FCE1 indicates a potential interplay of positive and negative transcriptional regulation by cyclically expressed bHLH proteins. A separable Lfng regulatory region directs expression to the prospective rostral aspect of the condensing somite. These independent Lfng regulatory cassettes advance a molecular framework for deciphering somite segmentation. Keywords Animals, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Female, Base Sequence, Genes, Regulator, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Molecular Sequence Data, Lac Operon, Transcription Factors, Body Patterning, Transgenes, Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid, Homeodomain Proteins, Protein Structure, Tertiary, RNA, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, DNA Mutational Analysis, Embryo, Mammalian, Biological Clocks, Pregnancy, 5' Flanking Region, Glycosyltransferases, Somites Journal Dev Cell Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 75-84 Date Published 07/2002 Alternate Journal Dev. Cell Google ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML