The spatial-temporal distribution of the mRNA of the Na+-K+-ATPase alpha-subunit in the early development of the clawed toad studied by hybridization in situ

Distribution of Na+-K+-ATPase alpha-subunit mRNA in full-grown oocytes and early embryos from of X. laevis has been studied using in situ hybridization on histological sections. The mRNA is dispersed about equally in the cytoplasm and is absent from the nucleus. The concentration of the mRNA is successively decreased from fertilization to the late blastula. The drastic decrease in mRNA concentration is observed in a period from morula to mid-blastula. The local increase in the mRNA concentration was detected in dorsal mesoderm and ectoderm during gastrulation.