Expression of GATA-2 in the developing avian rhombencephalon.

Here we describe the expression pattern of GATA-2 in the developing chick hindbrain. We found that during the early period of neurogenesis this gene specifically labels a particular neuronal subtype, the contralateral vestibular-acoustic neurons of rhombomere 4, and that expression of this gene in these cells is transient. We also found that GATA-2 labels a broader territory of the ventral neural tube at later stages. As well as this hindbrain expression, we also describe expression of GATA-2 in the otic vesicle, oculomotor nucleus, third nerve and metanephros.