Bapx1: An evolutionary conserved homologue of the Drosophila bagpipe homeobox gene is expressed in splanchnic mesoderm and the embryonic skeleton

In Drosophila, the visceral mesoderm giving rise to gut musculature is specified by the bagpipe homeobox gene. We have isolated, from both mouse and human, homologues of the bagpipe gene designated Bapx1 and BAPX1, respectively. Bapx1 encodes a predicted protein of 333 amino acids, and has significant regions of homology outside the homeodomain with members of the NK homeobox gene superfamily. Bapx1 maps to the proximal end of chromosome 5 in mouse, near the Msx1 gene. The syntenic region in human corresponds to a chromosomal region containing loci for several skeletal disorders. Bapx1 is first detectable in embryos just prior to axis rotation in lateral plate mesoderm (splanchnic mesoderm) adjacent to the endodermal lining of the prospective gut, and in the most newly formed somites in the region corresponding to the presclerotome, the precursor of the vertebrae. Thus, Bapx1 is one of the earliest developmental markers for the sclerotome portion of the somite and the gut mesentery. Bapx1 continues to be expressed well into organogenesis in lateral plate mesoderm surrounding the mid- and hindgut, and in essentially all cartilaginous condensations which will subsequently undergo endochondral bone formation. The expression pattern of Bapx1 in murine embryos suggests that there are evolutionary conserved mechanisms of visceral mesoderm development across the animal kingdom, and that the mammalian Bapx1 gene may have recently acquired an additional developmental role in skeletal patterning.