Effect of retinoids on Post2 Нох gene expression in nereid polychaetes

Abstract

Retinoic acid (RA) plays an important role in vertebrate development and regeneration. RA signalling directly regulates the expression of Hox genes, being in this way involved in the patterning of the anterior-posterior (AP) axis of vertebrate embryos. So far the relationship between retinoic acid signalling and Hox genes has been shown only for chordates. In this study we incubated juvenile worms and regenerating worms of two polychaete species from the family Nereididae, Alitta virens and Platynereis dumerilii, with all-trans-retinal, the precursor of retinoic acid. Under the influence of all-trans-retinal the anterior expression boundary of Post2 Нох gene shifted towards the anterior end both in intact and in regenerating worms of both species. Our data indicate the existence of a relationship between RA signalling and Нох genes in Protostomia.