Transcriptomic analysis of midbrain and individual hindbrain rhombomeres in the chick embryo

Abstract

The anteroposterior compartments of the developing hindbrain (rhombomeres [r]) are normally patterned by the combinatorial action of distinct Hox genes. Using Affymetrix GeneChips to define the repertoire of genes regulated in each rhombomere, we have performed a systematic survey of the transcriptional status of individual segments of the developing chick hindbrain (r1-5) at a key stage of early development (HH11) and identified hundreds of previously un-described genes expressed in this region. For comparative purposes, we have also included the adjacent region of the embryonic midbrain (m) in our dataset. In summary, six different embryonic brain regions (m, r1, r2, r3, r4 and r5) are represented by biological duplicates to give a raw dataset comprised of 12 individual Affymetrix GeneChip Cel and CHP files. These data give an opportunity to assess the genome-wide complexity of gene expression during patterning of the chick developing midbrain and hindbrain, and may be relevant to extending our understanding of the genes regulated by Hox family transcription factors.