tumefaciens YH-2, which contains an ACC Daporinad order deaminase gene, a transformation frequency of 2.9% was obtained. However, compared with using OA medium, the transformation frequencies obtained with

both A. tumefaciens YH-1 and YH-2 strains were significantly lower, which indicates that the presence of ACC deaminase can only partially replace AgNO3 in inhibiting ethylene levels during the regeneration process and promoting regeneration frequency. It has been reported that ethylene synthesized by plants, when challenged with pathogens, may inhibit bacterial growth by triggering the expression of genes involved in the plant defense system such as chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase and pathogen-related gene 1 (PR1) (Deikman, 1997; Glick et al., 2007). For example, bacterial growth in the ethylene-insensitive Arabidopsis mutants ein2 and coi1 was increased about 7–10 times more than that in wild-type Arabidopsis (Norman-Setterblad et al., 2000). Similarly, the growth of the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris in the highly ethylene-sensitive tomato plant mutant Ensartinib cell line LeETR4AS was

inhibited about 10-fold more than that in the wild-type tomato plants (Ciardi et al., 2001). In a recent study, it was found that the introduction of ACC deaminase into the virulent A. tumefaciens strain C58 increased the proliferation of Agrobacterium in crown galls. In 5-week-old crown galls of both tomato and castor bean plants, the A. tumefaciens strain with ACC deaminase accumulated to a population that was >20 times that of wild-type A. tumefaciens (Hao et al., 2007). This could be due to two reasons: first, the presence of ACC deaminase reduced the ethylene level synthesized by plants with the concomitant reduction of the expression of plant defense genes. Second, A. tumefaciens with ACC deaminase might use ACC as a nitrogen and carbon source

and thereby survive better and proliferate faster in the tumor than the wild-type strain. On the other hand, using melon cotyledon segments, Nonaka and colleagues reported that inclusion of ACC in the germination and cocultivation medium increased new ethylene evolution by the plant tissue, but did not inhibit A. tumefaciens growth (Nonaka et al., 2008b). To study whether the presence of ACC deaminase also affected Agrobacterium proliferation during the infection and cocultivation process, bacterial populations in the infected canola tissues were estimated 2 days after infection. Both the canola cultivars 4414RR and Hyola 401 yielded similar results. That is, when plants were infected with either an OD600 nm=1 or an OD600 nm=0.1 culture suspension (about 5 × 108 or 5 × 107 per cell mL−1, respectively), after 2 days of cocultivation on MS with 2,4-D (1 mg L−1) medium, both A. tumefaciens YH-1 and A. tumefaciens YH-2 were able to propagate to a population of about 109 CFU g−1 fresh weight of plant tissue.

, 1991; Barber et al., 1997; Slater et al., 2000; Dow et al., 2003; Fouhy et al., 2006; Ryan et al., 2006). RavS/RavR affect cell motility, exopolysaccharide synthesis, extracellular enzyme secretion and biofilm production

LY2109761 cost by regulating the expression of the corresponding genes by cyclic-di-GMP synthesis or hydrolysis and activation of RavR (He et al., 2009 and our unpublished data). XCC3107 was identified by genome-scale mutagenesis and was found to be involved in protease production and virulence (Qian et al., 2008). HrpG is an important regulator that controls the expression of the type III secretion system by interacting with the downstream AraC-family transcription factor, HrpX (Noel et al., 2001). However, HrpG is an orphan RR whose cognate histidine kinase has not been identified to date. In this study, we have identified an orphan RR (VemR)

that is required for virulence and adaptation of Xcc. The vemR gene resides in an operon that consists of the rpoN2, vemR and fleQ genes (Fig. 1a). The Lumacaftor cell line rpoN2 gene encodes a sigma 54 factor that is involved in nitrogen assimilation, nitrogen fixation, utilization of carbon sources, motility, alginate biosynthesis and virulence (Reitzer & Schneider, 2001; Yang et al., 2009). The fleQ gene encodes a sigma 54 factor cognate activator that is essential for normal flagellation and transcription of the promoters of the fliE, fliL, fliQ, flgB, flgG, flhF and flhBA genes in Xcc strain XC17 (Hu et al., 2005; Yang et al., 2009). It was observed that insertional inactivation of the fleQ gene resulted in impaired motility and virulence in Xcc strain XC17 (Yang et al., 2009). However, insertional inactivation of the vemR gene, which probably affects the expression of the fleQ gene, has no significant effect on virulence in Xcc ATCC 33913 (Qian et al., 2008). To avoid

unwanted polar effects, ΔvemR and ΔfleQ mutants were generated by in-frame deletion of the vemR and fleQ genes, respectively. Phenotyping demonstrated that mutation of the vemR gene severely affected Xcc virulence, exopolysaccharide production and motility (Fig. 1b, c and 2), whereas mutation of the fleQ gene showed less phenotypic effects in Xcc strain 8004 Phospholipase D1 (Fig. 4). Similar phenotypes were observed on deletion of the vemR gene in Xcc ATCC 33913 (data not shown). Moreover, the double-deletion mutant ΔvemR/ΔfleQ had a phenotype similar to the single mutant ΔfleQ (Fig. 4 and data not shown), suggesting that insertion inactivation of the vemR gene in Xcc ATCC 33913 might inactivate both vemR and fleQ genes simultaneously. Previous studies have shown that FleQ is an important regulator of the expression of flagella and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Dasgupta et al.

The suspensions were then spun down in an Eppendorf centrifuge, and the radioactivity in the supernatant measured in a liquid scintillation counter (Wallac, Model 1409). OptiPhase HiSafe 3 (PerkinElmer) was used as a liquid scintillation cocktail. All chemicals were of analytical grade, and, except where noted otherwise, were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Kft., Budapest, Hungary. All the results presented here are means of 3–5 independent experiments. The data were analysed and visualized by Sigmaplot (Jandel Scientific), and standard deviations (SDs) for each procedure were Olaparib manufacturer determined.

The SD values were always < 14% of the means. Conidiospores of A. niger were unable to germinate in submerged minimal medium with 1% d-galactose as a sole carbon source even after a prolonged incubation. Essentially similar results were obtained on solid medium. However, mycelia of A. niger pregrown on glycerol (or on any other carbon source tested such as d-glucose, peptone, l-arabinose, d-xylose) and transferred to fresh medium containing d-galactose as a sole carbon source were able to grow, although at a rate lower than other fungi such as A. nidulans (Fekete et al., 2004) or T. reesei (Seiboth et al., 2004) (Fig. 1). The above results suggested that A. niger can AZD1152-HQPA datasheet grow on d-galactose once the spores have germinated but its conidiospores fail to

do so. This suggested to us that transport of d-galactose into Ferroptosis inhibitor the conidia may be nonfunctional. To investigate this hypothesis in more detail, we incubated mycelia and conidiospores,

respectively, with 14C-labelled d-galactose, and followed its uptake into the cells. Uptake by mycelia was related to dry weight. As it was practically impossible to determine biomass data for conidiospores in a reproducible way, we could not specify 14C-labelled d-galactose uptake on the same basis in these two sets of experiments. Instead, we employed three different concentrations of conidia, namely 106, 107 and 109 spores mL−1, respectively, under identical experimental conditions. Any d-galactose uptake was therefore expected to be proportional to the number of conidiospores present in the medium. Data obtained indeed showed that the mycelia preformed on glycerol were able to transport d-galactose (Fig. 2a). On the other hand, there was no 14C-labelled d-galactose uptake by the conidiospores irrespective of their concentration (Fig. 2b), indicating the absence of d-galactose transport at this stage of growth in A. niger. The d-galactose-negative phenotype of A. niger was earlier speculated to be the consequence of a lack of galactokinase activity (Elshafei & Abdel-Fatah, 2001). In contrast, cell-free extracts of A. niger mycelia prepared by us were able to phosphorylate d-galactose, resulting in a specific galactokinase activity similar in value to that of A. nidulans (Ilyés et al., 2004).

1E). In both conditions, subjects equally improved from training to retrieval testing (F1,14 = 13.83 and P = 0.002, for ‘training/retrieval’ main effect). Performance on the digit span test measuring working memory capacity, and the word fluency test measuring the capability for retrieval from long-term memory, also did not differ between conditions (Table 2). Total sleep time was very similar during the tSOS and sham stimulation

conditions (74.1 ± 3.3 vs. 76.2 ± 3.4 min; Table 3), and 4-min intervals of (sham) stimulation also occurred equally often (7.60 ± 0.18 vs. 7.53 ± 0.21 FK506 cell line intervals; Table 3). In most cases (n = 13), subjects were woken after the end of the first REM sleep period. Visual scoring of arousals during the (sham) stimulation periods showed that the number of arousals was, on average, slightly lower during the stimulation condition than during the sham condition (mean ± SEM: 7.27 ± 1.35

vs. 8.93 ± 1.68; P = 0.16), but did not significantly differ between the two conditions. During the 4-min intervals of stimulation, endogenous SWA cannot be separated from the induced tSOS sine wave stimulation signal covering the same frequency band (Fig. 2A). However, after high-pass filtering, an analysis of spindle activity during ongoing stimulation was possible. The corresponding statistical anova included factors representing the stimulation period and the different electrode sites, as well as Tanespimycin an additional phase factor (discriminating up-phases and down-phases of the tSOS sine wave signal). In Pz, induction of SWA by tSOS

was acutely accompanied by distinct increases in a broad frequency range of 8–20 Hz during the anodal up-phases of the oscillating Olopatadine stimulation, as compared with the down-phases of the stimulation signal (F1,14 = 88.45 and P < 0.001 for the 9–15-Hz frequency band; Fig. 2B). This phase-coupling of EEG activity to the tSOS signal covering both the low 9–12-Hz and high 12–15-Hz spindle frequency bands was, for fast spindle activity, most pronounced during the first and third stimulation periods (F5,70 = 3.82 and P = 0.011 for the phase × stimulation period interaction). Exploratory analyses indicated that this phase-coupling also extended to the faster (15–20 Hz) beta frequency band (F1,14 = 72.0 and P < 0.001 for main effect of phase; F5,70 = 2.61 and P = 0.059, for the phase × stimulation period interaction). There was no systematic difference in EEG power in the slow and fast spindle bands or the adjacent beta band (calculated across the entire periods of acute stimulation) from those in the corresponding periods of the sham condition. Analyses of the 1-min stimulation-free intervals immediately following the 4-min intervals of tSOS (vs. sham stimulation) included factors representing the stimulation period and, in the case of the EEG power, the different electrode sites. This analysis revealed a clear tSOS-induced increase in SWS.

1). The same pattern existed among strains producing the other Vsa isotypes. Strains producing short Vsa proteins attached to MLE-12 cells in statistically significant higher numbers than did those strains that produced long proteins. These findings were true for strains producing a short or long VsaA protein, a short or long VsaI protein, and VsaH. There is no long form of the VsaH because this protein lacks tandem repeats (Simmons et al., 1996, 2004). There were no statistical differences observed between the Vsa isotypes examined. The only significant differences

were between strains producing short and long Vsa proteins. The mutants that lack EPS-I that APO866 manufacturer are available all produce a long VsaG protein. The EPS-I mutants CTG1291 and CTG1701 exhibited statistically significant reduced attachment to MLE-12 cells as compared to all strains CT99021 of mycoplasma that produced the polysaccharide (Fig. 2). The complemented mutant that had restored EPS-I production, strain CTG1701-C, attached as well as did the wild-type long VsaG-producing strain CTG38. The reduced attachment of the mutants is attributed to the loss of the EPS-I polysaccharide,

because the VsaG proteins produced by the mutant, wild-type, and complemented strains are indistinguishable by Western blot (Daubenspeck et al., 2009). As above, mycoplasmas producing a short VsaG exhibited statistically significant more adherence than did the strains that produced a long VsaG. Because the EPS-I mutants have an enhanced ability to form a biofilm on glass and plastic surfaces (Daubenspeck et al., 2009), the poor cytoadherence of the mutants was unexpected. Hence, hemadsorption was used as another approach to assess the adherence properties of the strains under study. Mycoplasma pulmonis colonies were scored according to the percent sRBC adsorbed (HA score). The results are shown in Table 1. The median HA scores of all strains expressing the VsaG isotype were 0, regardless of Vsa length. The median HA scores of CT182-R3, 4-Aminobutyrate aminotransferase producing a short VsaA protein,

and CT182-R40, producing a long VsaA, were 4 and 2, respectively. Similarly, the median HA scores of CTI-R4, short VsaI, and CTI-R40, long VsaI, were 4 and 2, respectively. The CT-H.8 median HA score was 4. Excluding the VsaG-producing strains, the median score of all the short Vsa-producing mycoplasmas was significantly greater than all the long Vsa-producing mycoplasmas (P = 0.0008). The HA assays for the CTG-R5 (n = 466), CTG38 (n = 509), CTG1291 (n = 472), CTG1701 (n = 603), and CTG1701-C (n = 524) were performed separately from the assays for CT182-R3 (n = 411), CT182-R40 (n = 641), CTI-R4 (n = 276), CTI-R40 (n = 437), and CT-H.8 (n = 385). Because the VsaG-producing strains did not hemadsorb regardless of whether EPS-I was produced, no conclusion could be reached as to a possible role of EPS-I in hemadsorption.

Mice with mOFC ATM/ATR inhibitor lesions acquired the reversal but failed to inhibit responding on the previously reinforced aperture, while mice with prelimbic prefrontal cortex lesions were unaffected. When tested on a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, mice with prelimbic cortical lesions were unable to maintain responding, resulting in declining response levels. Mice with

mOFC lesions, by contrast, escalated responding. Neither lesion affected sensitivity to satiety-specific outcome devaluation or non-reinforcement (i.e. extinction), and neither had effects when placed after animals were trained on a progressive ratio response schedule. Lesions of the ventral hippocampus, which projects to the mOFC, resulted in similar response patterns, while lateral OFC and dorsal hippocampus lesions resulted in response acquisition, though not inhibition, deficits in an instrumental reversal. Our findings thus selectively implicate the rodent mOFC in braking reinforced goal-directed action when reinforcement requires the acquisition of novel response contingencies. “
“Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective tool for inducing functional plastic changes in the brain. rTMS can also potentiate the effects of other interventions such as tactile coactivation, a form of repetitive stimulation, Hydroxychloroquine mw when both

are applied simultaneously. In this study, we investigated the interaction of these techniques in

affecting tactile acuity and cortical excitability, measured with somatosensory evoked potentials after paired median nerve stimulation. We first applied a session of 5-Hz rTMS, followed by a session of tactile repetitive stimulation, consisting of intermittent high-frequency tactile stimulation (iHFS) to a group of 15 healthy volunteers see more (“rTMS + iHFS” group). In a second group (“rTMS w/o iHFS”), rTMS was applied without iHFS, with a third assessment performed after a similar wait period. In the rTMS w/o iHFS group, the 5-Hz rTMS induced an increase in cortical excitability that continued to build for at least 25 min after stimulation, with the effect on excitability after the wait period being inversely correlated to the baseline state. In the rTMS + iHFS group, the second intervention prevented the continued increase in excitability after rTMS. In contrast to the effect on cortical excitability, rTMS produced an improvement in tactile acuity that remained stable until the last assessment, independent of the presence or absence of iHFS. Our results show that these methods can interact homeostatically when used consecutively, and suggest that different measures of cortical plasticity are differentially susceptible to homeostatic interactions.

For phenolic compounds, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is known for aerobic bacteria containing of enzymes using molecular oxygen as substrates (Tamburro et al., 2004). Obviously, these effects are greater in

the case of methanotrophic bacteria, with their very high activity of oxygen-depending enzymes such as the MMO. Thus, the activity of the MMO in the presence of aromatic compounds leads to an increased generation of oxidative stress that causes the occurrence of toxic ROS, resulting in various selleck kinase inhibitor cellular deleterious effects such as damage to proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. A concentration-dependent production of ROS in the presence of 4-chlorophenol was already verified in the bacterium Ochrobactrum anthropi (Tamburro et al., 2004). The find more very high sensitivity

of M. capsulatus towards organic solvents especially phenols might also have consequences in terms of the effect of methane on global warming (Crutzen, 1991; Oremland & Culbertson, 1992). Aliphatic and aromatic compounds represent one of the major pollutants of soils and waters worldwide. Taking into consideration that up to more than 80% of methane that is formed in the lower anaerobic parts of soils are degraded in the upper 30 cm by aerobic methanotrophic bacteria (Oremland & Culbertson, 1992), an anthropogenic pollution of soils by aromatic xenobiotic compounds might also lead to an increased overall release of this effective greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as it was already reported for nitrogen fertilizers (Steudler et al., 1989; King & Schnell, 1998). Figure 3 shows the effect of 1-decanol on the growth rate and the trans/cis ratio of unsaturated fatty acids. A direct relation between clonidine the added concentration of the toxin, its toxicity and the cis–trans isomerization could be observed (Fig. 3). This effect of toxic solvent concentrations is another physiological evidence for the presence of a cis–trans isomerase

of unsaturated fatty acids in M. capsulatus. However, the solvents’ effects on the cis–trans isomerization were different regarding the class of compounds tested as well as the toxicity/hydrophobicity of the alkanols and phenols added to the cells. In the presence of toxic concentrations of chlorinated phenols, aldehydes and short-chain alkanols, the effect was less intense than in the presence of long-chain alkanols such as 1-hexanol, 1-octanol and 1-decanol. In order to allow a better comparison of the results, the maximum changes in the trans/cis ratios obtained for all tested compounds were calculated (Table 3). In addition, Fig. 4 shows the highest differences in the trans/cis ratios (Δtrans/cis) of unsaturated fatty acids caused by the investigated organic compounds according to their log P values. This blot indicates well that the different compounds also caused a qualitatively different reaction at the level of cis–trans isomerization of the membrane lipids.

Compared with the control, the Bacteroides population did not significantly change after 8- and 24-h incubations, whereas a significant increase in the Lactobacillus/Enterococcus spp. numbers was only observed after addition selleck chemicals llc of FOS. An increase in the C. coccoides/E. rectale numbers was observed in the presence of NS, BS and FOS, the almond skin digests showing a greater increase after the 24-h incubation. All the test fractions also stimulated the growth of bifidobacteria, with 0.50 and 0.64 log increases in their numbers at 8 h with almond skins and FOS, respectively. Species of the C. hystolyticum group (Clostridium clusters I and II) decreased after addition of all the fractions. No significant

differences were observed between NS and BS, their effect on bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus/Enterococcus spp. and C. coccoides/E. rectale numbers being optimal after the 8-h incubation. In order to obtain a general quantitative measure of

the prebiotic effect, a prebiotic index (PI) was calculated (Palframan et al., 2003). The PI represents a comparative relationship between the growth of ‘beneficial’ bacteria, such as bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli and E. rectale numbers, and KU-60019 order the ‘less desirable’ ones, such as Clostridia and Bacteroides, in relation to the changes of the total number of bacteria (Fig. 2). For all substrates, the PI values obtained at 8-h incubation were higher than those at 24 h, FOS producing the highest values at all the time-points tested. No significant differences were observed between NS and BS, with a PI value slightly higher for BS (4.2) than NS (4.1) after an 8-h incubation, whereas a slightly lower PI value was recorded after 24 h for BS (3.2) compared with NS (3.3). The concentrations

of lactic, acetic, propionic and butyric acids produced during in vitro fermentations are shown in Table 3. FOS yielded the highest total SCFA production at all the time points tested. No significant AMP deaminase differences in SCFAs were observed between NS and BS. The concentrations of propionic and butyric acids increased after 8 h and peaked after a 24-h fermentation with NS and BS, again correlating with C. coccoides/E. rectale population changes. Acetic acid production increased towards the end of incubation, whereas lactic acid concentrations increased after an 8-h incubation and remained stable. In the present study, we have demonstrated the prebiotic potential of almond skins using combined models of human digestion, which include gastric and duodenal digestion, followed by colonic fermentation. The evaluation of novel prebiotic compounds should take into account the resistance to hydrolysis by human alimentary enzymes and absorption in the small intestine, together with hydrolysis and fermentation in the large bowel. Almond skins contain a high amount of dietary fibre, which is made of plant cell wall polysaccharides able to provide the body with energy through fermentation and absorption of SCFAs.

We hypothesized that compared with sham stimulation, AtDCS over M1 will enhance online and offline learning of the implicit motor sequence. In contrast, because PMd is known to be engaged in explicit knowledge of motor sequences, upregulating PMd with AtDCS during practice will attenuate online and offline learning of the implicit motor sequence. Thirteen right-handed healthy adults consented to participate

in the experimental protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Northwestern University. None of the participants had any history of neurological, psychiatric illness or any contraindications to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or tDCS. All participants used their non-dominant (left) hand for practice of the sequences. Sirolimus mouse Each participant attended three experimental sessions separated

by at least 8 days (Fig. 1). Each experimental session consisted of two consecutive days. On day 1 of each experimental session, selleck inhibitor TMS was used to identify the hotspot for the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle (see below for details). Participants were then tested for baseline performance on the motor sequence. Following baseline assessment, the participants received AtDCS over PMd or M1 or sham AtDCS. Once the participants were comfortable with tDCS (∼2 min later), motor sequence practice was begun. The order of PMd, M1 and sham tDCS was counterbalanced across the three experimental sessions and across participants. On day 2 of each session, the participants returned for a test of retention of the learned motor sequence. A modified version of the serial reaction time task (SRTT) (Nissen & Bullemer, 1987) was used for implicit or procedural learning. Stimuli were presented in a horizontal array at one of the four locations on a computer screen. Each of the positions on the screen corresponded to four keys (V, B, N, M) on the keyboard. Participants sat comfortably in front of the computer with fingers (little, ring, middle and index) of the left hand on the four keys (V,

B, N, M), respectively. For each trial, when a cue appeared on the screen, the participants responded as quickly as possible by pressing the corresponding Galeterone key. The stimulus remained on the screen until the correct response was made. Unbeknown to the participant a ten-item sequence was repeatedly presented. This allowed them to acquire the sequence in an implicit manner. At each experimental session, participants practiced one of the three ten-item implicit sequences (4-1-2-4-3-2-1-4-1-3; 3-2-4-3-1-4-2-3-4-1; 2-1-3-2-4-3-1-3-2-4) of comparable difficulty and with minimal carryover between sequences. A different sequence was practiced at each experimental session and the order of the sequences was counterbalanced across the 13 subjects.

Thus, the

early, obligatory cortical response to pitch transitions during passive listening was chronically enhanced by training in musicians, and, reflecting this training-induced enhancement, the task-related modulation of this response was also different between musicians and non-musicians. These results are the first to demonstrate the long-term effects of training, short-term effects of task and the effects of their interaction on the early (~100-ms) cortical processing of pitch transitions in music. The scalp distributions of these enhancement effects were generally right dominant at temporal electrode sites, suggesting contributions from the radially oriented subcomponent CH5424802 of change-N1, namely, the Tb (N1c) wave of the T-complex. “
“Cnidarians belong to the first phylum differentiating a nervous system, thus providing suitable model systems to trace the origins of neurogenesis. Indeed corals, sea anemones, jellyfish and hydra contract, swim and catch their food thanks to sophisticated nervous systems that share with bilaterians common neurophysiological mechanisms. However, cnidarian neuroanatomies are quite diverse, and reconstructing the urcnidarian nervous system is ambiguous. At least a series of characters recognized in all classes appear plesiomorphic: (1) the three cell types that build cnidarian nervous systems (sensory-motor cells,

ganglionic neurons Adriamycin mouse and mechanosensory cells called nematocytes or cnidocytes); (2) an organization of nerve nets and nerve rings [those working as annular central nervous system (CNS)]; (3) a neuronal conduction via neurotransmitters; (4) a larval anterior sensory organ required for metamorphosis; (5) a persisting neurogenesis in adulthood. By contrast, the origin

of the larval and adult neural stem cells differs between hydrozoans and other cnidarians; the sensory organs (ocelli, lens-eyes, statocysts) are present in medusae but absent in anthozoans; the electrical neuroid conduction is restricted to hydrozoans. Evo-devo approaches might help reconstruct next the neurogenic status of the last common cnidarian ancestor. In fact, recent genomic analyses show that if most components of the postsynaptic density predate metazoan origin, the bilaterian neurogenic gene families originated later, in basal metazoans or as eumetazoan novelties. Striking examples are the ParaHox Gsx, Pax, Six, COUP-TF and Twist-type regulators, which seemingly exert neurogenic functions in cnidarians, including eye differentiation, and support the view of a two-step process in the emergence of neurogenesis. “
“The transcription factor Nkx2-1 belongs to the homeobox-encoding family of proteins that have essential functions in prenatal brain development. Nkx2-1 is required for the specification of cortical interneurons and several neuronal subtypes of the ventral forebrain.