Desrt, an AT-rich interaction domain family transcription factor gene, is an early marker for nephrogenic mesoderm and is expressed dynamically during mouse limb development.

Desrt is a mouse gene of the AT-rich interaction domain family of transcription factors. Here we describe the temporal and spatial pattern of expression of Desrt during mouse organogenesis. Desrt expression is first detected in the intermediate plate mesoderm, providing an early embryonic marker for this tissue, and subsequently in the nephrogenic cords of the urogenital ridges. A highly dynamic expression pattern is observed in the developing limb, implicating Desrt in limb patterning. Desrt is also detected in the myotome of the somites, the oro-naso-pharyngeal ectoderm and underlying mesenchyme, otic vesicles, the gut and its derivatives, and transiently in the liver.