Expression pattern of the drm/gremlin gene during chicken embryonic development.

The drm gene encodes a cystine knot-containing secreted and cell membrane-associated glycoprotein shown to be an antagonist of BMPs. Drm was recently reported to play a crucial role in limb bud development, by its capacity to bind BMPs. Here, we have studied the expression pattern of drm transcripts during chicken development, by using whole-mount in situ hybridization. We show that, from stage 22HH to stage 26HH, in addition to limb buds, drm is expressed in cephalic neural crest-derived branchial arches I, II and III, in the medio-dorsal lip of the myotome and in the superficial dermatome