XNkx-2.5, a Xenopus gene related to Nkx-2.5 and tinman: evidence for a conserved role in cardiac development.

We have isolated a Xenopus homeodomain sequence, XNkx-2.5, which shows significant similarity to mouse Nkx-2.5 and to the Drosophila tinman gene product. In Drosophila, tinman is required for formation of the heart and visceral mesoderm structures. In situ hybridization studies show that XNkx-2.5 is expressed in the heart region during early Xenopus development and later is also expressed in gut tissue. The observed similarity of sequences and expression patterns suggests that the regulatory mechanisms underlying heart formation may be conserved between distant species.