The Role of the Extracellular Matrix in Growth and Development: an Introduction

gene was identified; its full-length cDNA was cloned from a library and sequenced. The cDNA is a novel member of the Ras-superfamily and was named Dexras1 due to its ability to be induced by dexamethasone. Experiments are in progress to characterize the role of Dexras1 in the pituitary and in other steroid-responsive tissues. Overall, differential display was extremely useful in identification of a novel gene, however, it may require considerable effort in terms of testing various PCR primer combinations and the technique may be expected to generate a significant number of false positives.