Regulation of spblimp1/krox1a, an alternatively transcribed isoform expressed in midgut and hindgut of the sea urchin gastrula

The sea urchin regulatory gene Spblimp1/krox produces alternatively transcribed and spliced isoforms, 1a and 1b, which have different temporal and spatial patterns of expression. Here we describe a cis-regulatory module that controls the expression of the 1a splice form in the midgut and hindgut at the beginning of gastrulation. Conserved sequence patches revealed by a comparison of the blimp1/krox locus in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus genomes were tested by gene transfer, in association with GFP or CAT reporter genes. An expression construct containing a conserved sequence patch immediately 5′ of exon 1a included the transcription initiation site for blimp1/krox1a. This construct displays specific mid and hindgut expression, indicating that these are the locations of endogenous blimp1/krox1a transcription during the gastrula stage. Its sequence contains binding sites for Brn1/2/4, Otx, and Blimp1/Krox itself, as predicted in a prior regulatory network analysis.