Molecular characterization of Ptf1a activity during Xenopus embryogenesis

TL;DRAbstract

A balance between inhibitory and excitatory neurons is essential for the establishment of a functional vertebrate nervous system. A key factor in regulating this balance is the bHLH transcription factor Ptf1a, which promotes a GABAergic inhibitory neuronal identity at the expense of a glutamatergic excitatory neuronal identity in the vertebrate retina, hindbrain and spinal cord. In this context, the activity of Ptf1a requires formation of a trimeric complex, in which Ptf1a binds to a commonly expressed bHLH E-protein and to a member of the Su(H) family. Ptf1a has also been shown to promote general neuronal differentiation in X. laevis embryos and explants, suggesting that Ptf1a has proneural activity. In this thesis work, the role of Ptf1a in the context of both general neurogenesis (early function) and neuronal subtype specification (late function) was investigated. Through the temporal expression analysis of known genes, Ptf1a was shown to drive neurogenesis in animal caps (naïve ect

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