ABSTRACT
We study the expression of two genes during embryogenesis of the sea urchin : the hatching enzyme gene (HE) and the BP10 gene. The hatching enzyme has been purified and its cDNA isolated from a lambda gt 11 library by immunoscreening. The cDNA coding for the BP10 protein was isolated during the same screening. Both proteins are secreted metalloproteases, but the hatching enzyme belongs to the collagenase family while the BP10 protein has homologies with the human BMP-1 and the tolloid protein from Drosophila. The two genes are controlled at the transcriptional level and display similar expression patterns. They are transiently expressed at the blastula stage in a limited territory which corresponds to the presumptive ectoderm.
