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Characterizing Gene Expression During Lens Formation In Xenopus Laevis: Evaluating The Model For Embryonic Lens Induction, Brian Walter, Jonathan Henry, Maria Carinato, Jonathan Schaefer, Adam Wolfe, Brian Walter, Kimberly Perry, Tricia Elbl

Brian Walter

Few directed searches have been undertaken to identify the genes involved in vertebrate lens formation. In the frog Xenopus, the larval cornea can undergo a process of transdifferentiation to form a new lens once the original lens is removed. Based on preliminary evidence, we have shown that this process shares many elements of a common molecular/genetic pathway to that involved in embryonic lens development. A subtracted cDNA library, enriched for genes expressed during cornea-lens transdifferentiation, was prepared. The similarities/identities of specific clones isolated from the subtracted cDNA library define an expression profile of cells undergoing cornea-lens transdifferentiation ("lens regeneration") and …