Bertke, Michelle M.Dubiak, Kyle M.Cronin, LauraZeng, ErliangHuber, Paul W.Adenovirus protein, Gam1, triggers the proteolytic destruction of the E1 SUMO-activating enzyme. Microinjection of an empirically determined amount of Gam1 mRNA into one-cell Xenopus embryos can reduce SUMOylation activity to undetectable, but nonlethal, levels, enabling an examination of the role of this post-translational modification during early vertebrate development.en-USSUMOHeart developmentNeural tube developmentCongenital birth defectsNon-canonical Wnt signalingPlanar cell polarityA deficiency in SUMOylation activity disrupts multiple pathways leading to neural tube and heart defects in Xenopus embryosArticle