Bop1 is required to establish precursor domains of craniofacial tissues

• Published in: Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000) N.Y. : 2000), 2024-02, Vol.62 (1), p.e23580-n/a
• Main Authors: Keer, Stephanie, Neilson, Karen M., Cousin, Helene, Majumdar, Himani D., Alfandari, Dominique, Klein, Steven L., Moody, Sally A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biosynthesis; branchial arch; Cell proliferation; Chondrogenesis; Craniofacial growth; Embryos; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genes; Head; Neural crest; Neural Crest - metabolism; Neural plate; otic vesicle; Otx2 protein; Pax2 protein; Precursors; preplacodal ectoderm; Ribosomes - metabolism; RNA processing; rRNA; SIX gene family; Skull; Skull - metabolism; Sox9 protein; Tbx1 protein; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Xenopus; Xenopus laevis
• ISSN: 1526-954X; 1526-968X; 1526-968X
• DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23580

Summary Bop1 can promote cell proliferation and is a component of the Pes1‐Bop1‐WDR12 (PeBoW) complex that regulates ribosomal RNA processing and biogenesis. In embryos, however, bop1 mRNA is highly enriched in the neural plate, cranial neural crest and placodes, and potentially may interact with Six1, which also is expressed in these tissues. Recent work demonstrated that during development, Bop1 is required for establishing the size of the tadpole brain, retina and cranial cartilages, as well as controlling neural tissue gene expression levels. Herein, we extend this work by assessing the effects of Bop1 knockdown at neural plate and larval stages. Loss of Bop1 expanded neural plate gene expression domains (sox2, sox11, irx1) and reduced neural crest (foxd3, sox9), placode (six1, sox11, irx1, sox9) and epidermal (dlx5) expression domains. At larval stages, Bop1 knockdown reduced the expression of several otic vesicle genes (six1, pax2, irx1, sox9, dlx5, otx2, tbx1) and branchial arch genes that are required for chondrogenesis (sox9, tbx1, dlx5). The latter was not the result of impaired neural crest migration. Together these observations indicate that Bop1 is a multifunctional protein that in addition to its well‐known role in ribosomal biogenesis functions during early development to establish the craniofacial precursor domains.