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How The Mother Can Help: Studying Maternal Wnt Signaling by Anti-sense-mediated Depletion of Maternal mRNAs and the Host Transfer Technique

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Wnt Signaling

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 469))

Abstract

Early development in Xenopus laevis is controlled by maternal gene products synthesized during oogen-esis. The dorsal/ventral and anterior/posterior axes are established as a result of canonical Wnt signaling activity. The functions of maternal genes in embryonic development are most effectively studied by introducing anti-sense, oligos complementary to their mRNAs into oocytes and culturing the oocytes long enough to allow for the breakdown of the target RNAs and the turnover of existing cognate proteins before fertilization. This method has been used to establish the role of Wnt signaling in Xenopus axis formation. Here we describe the methodology for targeting of maternal mRNAs and for successful fertilization of mRNA-depleted oocytes.

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Mir, A., Heasman, J. (2008). How The Mother Can Help: Studying Maternal Wnt Signaling by Anti-sense-mediated Depletion of Maternal mRNAs and the Host Transfer Technique. In: Vincan, E. (eds) Wnt Signaling. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 469. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-469-2_26

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-468-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-469-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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