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Fig. 4. Spatial expression of GDF6 during early Xenopus development. (A) GDF6
is expressed at the border of the dorsal and ventral ectoderm around stages 11 to
12. (B,C) At neurula stages, GDF6 is expressed at the edges of the neural plate, as
well as in two patches in the anterior neural plate. (D-F) At late neurula stages 18-
19, GDF6 is distributed in a salt-and-pepper pattern in the neural folds (inset of
panel E), possibly representing the premigratory neural crest cells. In addition,
GDF6 is expressed in olfactory placode and in the eye field. (G,H) After the neural
tube closure, GDF6 occupies the dorsal midline of the neural tube, again in a
dotted fashion. The expression in the olfactory placode persists, and the staining in
the eye field becomes localized to the dorsal part. (I-L) At tailbud stages, GDF6 is
seen at the dorsal hindbrain and the dorsal midline of the spinal cord. It is also
expressed in the dorsal retina of the developing eyes. Embryos are viewed from
dorsal side in A, B, D, E, H, J and K, with anterior end to the left. In C, F and G,
the embryos are viewed head on from anterior end. Embryos in I and J are viewed
from lateral side with anterior end to the left |
