IBN 9723173 PI: RAO Dr. Rao's long term goal is to understand molecular mechanisms underlying vertebrate eye development. The focus of the research supported by this grant is on functional studies of ET, a T domain protein in the Xenopus frog recently identified in Dr. Rao's lab. The T domain is a DNA binding domain first characterized in the mouse T gene product. T domain proteins are emerging as a new family of developmental regulators essential in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Xenopus embryos provide a powerful system for studying the roles of T domain proteins. Previous work by Dr. Rao led to the hypothesis that there were multiple T domain proteins in Xenopus embryos, and that some of these could be involved in eye development. Dr. Rao's preliminary studies have resulted in the isolation of the ET gene. By in situ hybridization, ET messenger RNA was found to be present in the primordia for the retina and the cement gland. To study the functional role of ET, Dr. Rao's group will determine the distribution of ET protein in Xenopus embryos, dissect the functional domains of the ET protein, and investigate the role of ET in eye development. Results from the proposed experiments will be integrated to reveal the role of ET in vertebrate eye development. Accomplishment of the proposed research will further our understanding of molecular mechanisms of vertebrate eye development.
