Cis-regulatory analysis of Onecut1 expression in fate-restricted retinal progenitor cells
The vertebrate retina consists of six major classes of neuronal cells. During development, these cells are generated from a pool of multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) that express the gene Vsx2.
The vertebrate retina is comprised of six main classes of neuronal cells and one class of glial cells, organized into three discrete nuclear layers and two plexiform layers. These morphologically and functionally diverse cells have been characterized in multiple vertebrate species to originate from multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs)
Taken together, these results suggest a role for bHLH factors in promoting the formation of fate-restricted RPCs from multipotent RPCs through the activation of Onecut1 and Otx2.
Future studies are required in which bHLH factors are overexpressed in combination with each other and with homeobox factors to determine which factors are sufficient to drive early retinal cell fates in chick.
Common Design 