Molecular cloning of chicken embryo fibroblast growth factor 1 cDNA and its expression during early embryogenesis

Abstract

Accumulating evidance indicates that the products of the FGF gene family function as signaling molecules in diverse processes during vertebrate embryogenesis. In tring to further understand the function of the FGFs during early vertebrate development, we attempted to isolate and clone chicken cognate of the mouse and human FGF1 gene using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. A single pair of degenerate oligonucleotide primer set was used for amplification of chicken FGF1 gene. About 340 base pairs of expected FGF1 sequences between the primers were amplified. Southern blot hybridization using probes for a mouse FGF1 was performed to confirm that the chicken FGF1 cDNA of interest had been amplified. Sequences upstream and downstream of the amplified products were obtained by means of the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. Sequence analysis revealed that chicken FGF1 is highly homologous to that of its mammalian counterparts. mRNA in situ hybridization analysis studies demonstrate that FGF1 transcripts are highly expressed in developing eyes, suggesting that FGF1 may be an important signaling molecule for vertebrate eye development.