Development 124, 4811-4818 (1997) 4811 Printed in Great Britain © The Company of Biologists Limited 1997 DEV2208 Role of Dlx-1 and Dlx-2 genes in patterning of the murine dentition Bethan L. Thomas1,*, Abigail S. Tucker1,*, Mensheng Qiu2, Christine A. Ferguson1, Zoë Hardcastle1, John L. R. Rubenstein2 and Paul T. Sharpe1,† 1Department of Craniofacial Development, Guy’s Hospital, London, SE1 9RT, UK 2Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Programs in Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Francisco, USA *Contributed equally to this work †Author for correspondence (e-mail:
[email protected]) SUMMARY The molecular events of odontogenic induction are molar epithelium has lost its odontogenic potential. Using beginning to be elucidated, but until now nothing was molecular markers of branchial arch neural crest (Barx1) known about the molecular basis of the patterning of the and commitment to chondrogenic differentiation (Sox9), dentition. A role for Dlx-1 and Dlx-2 genes in patterning of we show that this population alters its fate from odonto- the dentition has been proposed with the genes envisaged genic to become chondrogenic. These results provide as participating in an ‘odontogenic homeobox gene code’ evidence that a subpopulation of cranial neural crest is by specifying molar development. This proposal was specified as odontogenic by Dlx-1 and Dlx-2 genes. Loss of based on the restricted expression of the genes in molar function of these genes results in reprogramming of this ectomesenchyme derived from cranial neural crest cells population of ectomesenchyme cells into chondrocytes.