Brain structure and function experience dramatic changes from
embryonic to
postnatal development.
Microarray analyses have detected differential
gene expression at different stages and in disease models, but
gene expression information during early
brain development is limited. We have generated >27 million reads to identify
mRNAs from
the mouse cortex for >16,000 genes at either
embryonic day 18 (E18) or
postnatal day 7 (P7), a period of significant
synaptogenesis for
neural circuit formation. In addition, we devised strategies to detect alternative
splice forms and uncovered more
splice variants. We observed differential expression of 3,758 genes between the 2 stages, many with known functions or predicted to be important for
neural development. Neurogenesis-related genes, such as those encoding Sox4, Sox11, and
zinc-finger proteins, were more highly expressed at E18 than at P7. In contrast, the genes encoding synaptic proteins such as
synaptotagmin,
complexin 2, and
syntaxin were up-regulated from E18 to P7. We also found that several
neurological disorder-related genes were highly expressed at E18. Our
transcriptome analysis may serve as a blueprint for
gene expression pattern and provide functional clues of previously unknown genes and disease-related genes during early
brain development.
