Radar breaks the fog: insights into dorsoventral patterning in zebrafish.
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Directional asymmetry of the zebrafish epithalamus guides dorsoventral innervation of the midbrain target.
The zebrafish epithalamus, consisting of the pineal complex and flanking dorsal habenular nuclei, provides a valuable model for exploring how left-right differences could arise in the vertebrate brain. The parapineal lies to the left of the pineal and the left habenula is larger, has expanded dense neuropil, and distinct patterns of gene expression from the right habenula. Under the influence of Nodal signaling, positioning of the parapineal sets the direction of habenular asymmetry and thereby determines the left-right origin of habenular projections onto the midbrain target, the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN). In zebrafish with parapineal reversal, neurons from the left habenula project to a more limited ventral IPN region where right habenular axons would normally project. Conversely, efferents from the right habenula adopt a more extensive dorsoventral IPN projection pattern typical of left habenular neurons. Three members of the leftover-related KCTD (potassium channel tetramerization domain containing) gene family are expressed differently by the left and right habenula, in patterns that define asymmetric subnuclei. Molecular asymmetry extends to protein levels in habenular efferents, providing additional evidence that left and right axons terminate within different dorsoventral regions of the midbrain target. Laser-mediated ablation of the parapineal disrupts habenular asymmetry and consequently alters the dorsoventral distribution of innervating axons. The results demonstrate that laterality of the dorsal forebrain influences the formation of midbrain connections and their molecular properties.
Animals↗
Intestinal fatty acid binding protein gene expression reveals the cephalocaudal patterning during zebrafish gut morphogenesis.
Intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small and highly conserved cytoplasmic proteins that bind long-chain fatty acids and other hydrophobic ligands. We have examined, as a model for studying intestinal epithelial cell differentiation, the cell-specific and spatio-temporal expression of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (i-fabp) gene during zebrafish larval development. After molecular cloning of zebrafish I-FABP cDNA, whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis revealed that i-fabp is expressed in the intestinal tube around day 3 postfertilization. By day 4, highest level of i-fabp transcript is encountered in the proximal columnar epithelium. From day 5 onwards, i-fabp is strongly expressed in the anterior intestine and its rostral expansion, slightly expressed in the esophagus mucosa and rectum, while no mRNA could be detected in the posterior intestine. Therefore, the regional differentiation of the intestine precedes first feeding and complete yolk resorption. I-fabp expression in the anterior intestine of the fed larvae is correlated with an intracellular storage of lipid droplets in the enterocytes and the massive synthesis of very low-density lipoprotein particles. In conclusion, the cephalocaudal expression pattern of i-fabp demarcates early during zebrafish gut morphogenesis the anterior fat absorbing to posterior cells of the intestine. This gene could be used as a marker for screening for mutations that affect the events of intestinal epithelial differentiation, cephalocaudal patterning, and asymmetric gut looping morphogenesis.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Characterization of Ca2+-dependent phospholipase A2 activity during zebrafish embryogenesis.
We have developed a simple fluorescent assay for detection of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity in zebrafish embryos that utilizes a fluorescent phosphatidylcholine substrate. By using this assay in conjunction with selective PLA2 inhibitors and Western blot analysis, we identified the principal activity in zebrafish embryogenesis as characteristic of the Ca2+-dependent cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2) subtype. Embryonic cPLA2 activity remained constant from the 1-cell stage until the onset of somitogenesis, at which time it increased sharply. This increase was preceded by the expression of a previously identified zebrafish cPLA2 homologue (Nalefski, E., Sultzman, L., Martin, D., Kriz, R., Towler, P., Knopf, J., and Clark, J. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 18239-18249). By using a quenched BODIPY-labeled phosphatidylcholine that fluoresces only upon cleavage by PLA2, lipase activity was visualized in the cells of living embryos where it localized to perinuclear membranes.
Animals↗
Disruption of erythropoiesis by dioxin in the zebrafish.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p- dioxin (TCDD, or dioxin) causes early life stage mortality in a variety of fish species. We have used the zebrafish (Danio rerio) to study the cardiovascular effects of TCDD treatment over the time course of zebrafish development. Early TCDD exposure (6 ng/ml) starting at 4 hr postfertilization (hpf) produced reductions in blood flow and in the number of circulating erythrocytes. These defects were consistently observable by 72 hpf. However, these responses were not observed when TCDD exposure was delayed until 96 hpf or later. These results suggest a model in which TCDD interferes with cardiovascular and erythropoietic developmental processes that are normally completed by 96 hpf. This model is strengthened by the finding that TCDD exposure blocks the step in hematopoiesis in which developing zebrafish switch from the primitive phase to the definitive phase of erythropoiesis. We observed no effect of TCDD on the levels of circulating primitive erythrocytes before 72 hpf and the expression of markers for early hematopoiesis, GATA-1 and GATA-2. However, early TCDD exposure prevented the appearance of definitive phase erythrocytes. TCDD produced a small delay in the migration of blood cells expressing SCL from the intermediate cell mass to the dorsal mesentery and dorsal aorta. Despite the decrease in blood flow produced by TCDD, confocal microscopy of the trunk vasculature by using a Tie2/green fluorescence protein endothelial marker at 48, 60, 72, and 96 hpf of TCDD-exposed (4 hpf) revealed no apparent defects in blood vessel structure.
Anemia↗
Combined haploid and insertional mutation screen in the zebrafish.
To identify genes required for development of the brain and somites, we performed a pilot screen of gynogenetic haploid zebrafish embryos produced from mothers mutagenized by viral insertion. We describe an efficient method to identify new mutations and the affected gene. In addition, we report the results of a small-scale screen that identified five genes required for brain development, including novel alleles of nagie oko, pou5f1, ribosomal protein L36, and n-cadherin, as well as a novel allele of the laminin g1 gene that is required for normal skeletal muscle fiber organization and somite patterning.
Alleles↗
Evolution of new hormone function: loss and gain of a receptor.
The vertebrate proglucagon gene encodes three glucagon-like sequences (glucagon, glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1], and glucagon-like peptide 2 [GLP-2]) that have distinct functions in regulating metabolism in mammals. In contrast, glucagon and GLP-1 have similar physiological actions in fish, that of mammalian glucagon. We have identified sequences similar to receptors for proglucagon-derived peptides from the genomes of two fish (pufferfish and zebrafish), a frog (Xenopus tropicalis), and a bird (chicken). Phylogenetic analysis of the receptor sequences suggested an explanation for the divergent function of GLP-1 in fish and mammals. The phylogeny of our predicted and characterized receptors for proglucagon-derived peptides demonstrate that receptors for glucagon, GLP-1, and GLP-2 have an origin before the divergence of fish and mammals; however, fish have lost the gene encoding the GLP-1 class of receptors, and likely the incretin action of GLP-1. Receptors that bind GLP-1, but yield glucagon-like action, have been characterized in goldfish and zebrafish, and these sequences are most closely related to glucagon receptors. Both pufferfish and zebrafish have a second glucagon receptor-like gene that is most closely related to the characterized goldfish glucagon receptor. The phylogeny of glucagon receptor-like genes in fish indicates that a duplication of the glucagon receptor gene occurred on the ancestral fish lineage, and could explain the shared action of glucagon and GLP-1. We suggest that the binding specificity of one of the duplicated glucagon receptors has diverged, yielding receptors for GLP-1 and glucagon, but that ancestral downstream signaling has been maintained, resulting in both receptors retaining glucagon-stimulated downstream effects.
Animals↗
Noise-resistant and synchronized oscillation of the segmentation clock.
Periodic somite segmentation in vertebrate embryos is controlled by the 'segmentation clock', which consists of numerous cellular oscillators. Although the properties of a single oscillator, driven by a hairy negative-feedback loop, have been investigated, the system-level properties of the segmentation clock remain largely unknown. To explore these characteristics, we have examined the response of a normally oscillating clock in zebrafish to experimental stimuli using in vivo mosaic experiments and mathematical simulation. We demonstrate that the segmentation clock behaves as a coupled oscillator, by showing that Notch-dependent intercellular communication, the activity of which is regulated by the internal hairy oscillator, couples neighbouring cells to facilitate synchronized oscillation. Furthermore, the oscillation phase of individual oscillators fluctuates due to developmental noise such as stochastic gene expression and active cell proliferation. The intercellular coupling was found to have a crucial role in minimizing the effects of this noise to maintain coherent oscillation.
Animals↗
Mutations in TGIF cause holoprosencephaly and link NODAL signalling to human neural axis determination.
Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common structural defect of the developing forebrain in humans (1 in 250 conceptuses, 1 in 16,000 live-born infants). HPE is aetiologically heterogeneous, with both environmental and genetic causes. So far, three human HPE genes are known: SHH at chromosome region 7q36 (ref. 6); ZIC2 at 13q32 (ref. 7); and SIX3 at 2p21 (ref. 8). In animal models, genes in the Nodal signalling pathway, such as those mutated in the zebrafish mutants cyclops (refs 9,10), squint (ref. 11) and one-eyed pinhead (oep; ref. 12), cause HPE. Mice heterozygous for null alleles of both Nodal and Smad2 have cyclopia. Here we describe the involvement of the TG-interacting factor (TGIF), a homeodomain protein, in human HPE. We mapped TGIF to the HPE minimal critical region in 18p11.3. Heterozygous mutations in individuals with HPE affect the transcriptional repression domain of TGIF, the DNA-binding domain or the domain that interacts with SMAD2. (The latter is an effector in the signalling pathway of the neural axis developmental factor NODAL, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family.) Several of these mutations cause a loss of TGIF function. Thus, TGIF links the NODAL signalling pathway to the bifurcation of the human forebrain and the establishment of ventral midline structures.
Animals↗
Comparative genome analysis of the neurexin gene family in Danio rerio: insights into their functions and evolution.
Neurexins constitute a family of proteins originally identified as synaptic transmembrane receptors for a spider venom toxin. In mammals, the 3 known Neurexin genes present 2 alternative promoters that drive the synthesis of a long (alpha) and a short (beta) form and contain different sites of alternative splicing (AS) that can give rise to thousands of different transcripts. To date, very little is known about the significance of this variability, except for the modulation of binding to some of the Neurexin ligands. Although orthologs of Neurexins have been isolated in invertebrates, these genes have been studied mostly in mammals. With the aim of investigating their functions in lower vertebrates, we chose Danio rerio as a model because of its increasing importance in comparative biology. We have isolated 6 zebrafish homologous genes, which are highly conserved at the structural level and display a similar regulation of AS, despite about 450 Myr separating the human and zebrafish species. Our data indicate a strong selective pressure at the exonic level and on the intronic borders, in particular on the regulative intronic sequences that flank the exons subject to AS. Such a selective pressure could help conserve the regulation and consequently the function of these genes along the vertebrates evolutive tree. AS analysis during development shows that all genes are expressed and finely regulated since the earliest stages of development, but mark an increase after the 24-h stage that corresponds to the beginning of synaptogenesis. Moreover, we found that specific isoforms of a zebrafish Neurexin gene (nrxn1a) are expressed in the adult testis and in the earliest stages of development, before the beginning of zygotic transcription, indicating a potential delivery of paternal RNA to the embryo. Our analysis suggests the existence of possible new functions for Neurexins, serving as the basis for novel approaches to the functional studies of this complex neuronal protein family and more in general to the understanding of the AS mechanism in low vertebrates.
Alternative Splicing↗
TAZ, a transcriptional modulator of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a pluripotent cell type that can differentiate into several distinct lineages. Two key transcription factors, Runx2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), drive MSCs to differentiate into either osteoblasts or adipocytes, respectively. How these two transcription factors are regulated in order to specify these alternate cell fates remains a pivotal question. Here we report that a 14-3-3-binding protein, TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif), coactivates Runx2-dependent gene transcription while repressing PPARgamma-dependent gene transcription. By modulating TAZ expression in model cell lines, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and primary MSCs in culture and in zebrafish in vivo, we observed alterations in osteogenic versus adipogenic potential. These results indicate that TAZ functions as a molecular rheostat that modulates MSC differentiation.
Acyltransferases↗
Generation of a large scale repertoire of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from normalised rainbow trout cDNA libraries.
BACKGROUND: Within the framework of a genomics project on livestock species (AGENAE), we initiated a high-throughput DNA sequencing program of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. RESULTS: We constructed three cDNA libraries including one highly complex pooled-tissue library. These libraries were normalized and subtracted to reduce clone redundancy. ESTs sequences were produced, and 96,472 ESTs corresponding to high quality sequence reads were released on the international database, currently representing 42.5% of the overall sequence knowledge in this species. All these EST sequences and other publicly available ESTs in rainbow trout have been included on a publicly available Website (SIGENAE) and have been clustered into a total of 52,930 clusters of putative transcripts groups, including 24,616 singletons. 57.1% of these 52,930 clusters are represented by at least one Agenae EST and 14,343 clusters (27.1%) are only composed by Agenae ESTs. Sequence analysis also reveals that normalization and especially subtraction were effective in decreasing redundancy, and that the pooled-tissue library was representative of the initial tissue complexity. CONCLUSION: Due to present work on the construction of rainbow trout normalized cDNA libraries and their extensive sequencing, along with other large scale sequencing programs, rainbow trout is now one of the major fish models in term of EST sequences available in a public database, just after Zebrafish, Danio rerio. This information is now used for the selection of a non redundant set of clones for producing DNA micro-arrays in order to examine global gene expression.
Animals↗
Cell-differentiation rules that generate regular mosaic patterns: modelling motivated by cone mosaic formation in fish retina.
We study characteristics of cell-differentiation rules that realize stable formation of regularly arranged checker-board patterns, exemplified by cone "mosaic" zebrafish retina, or the regular arrangement of cone photoreceptor cells. We consider the situation in which cells are arranged on a square lattice and are initially undifferentiated. Later each cell becomes one of the two differentiated states, affected by the state of the neighboring cells. The cells that undergo differentiation form a "morphogenetic cell row" which sweeps from one end to the other end of the lattice through time. This models an outward sweep of the margin of expanding mosaic region of the retina which occurs as undifferentiated photoreceptor cells become differentiated in concentric circles, joining the mosaic. We introduce an index to measure the ability of cell-differentiation rules to generate regular checker-board patterns from irregular initial patterns, and attempt to characterize the successful rules. We first show the importance of six "preservation conditions" which guarantee perfectly regular photoreceptor arrangement for all the rows after a regular row. Then we select an additional six "optimizing conditions" for responses to configuration that are consistently shown by the rules of high average scores. We also examine the effect of interaction between responses to different configurations. Finally we examine the concept of morphogenetic row precedence, i.e. that the successful rules generating a high score tend to treat the consistency with neighbors in the newly differentiated cells (those in the morphogenetic cell row) as more important that the consistency with previously differentiated neighbors.
Animals↗
Animal models for X-linked sideroblastic anemia.
Erythroid 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-E) catalyzes the first step of heme biosynthesis in erythroid cells. Several lines of evidence suggest that the expression of ALAS-E is important for the process of erythroid differentiation, which requires a large amount of heme for hemoglobin production. Mutation of human ALAS-E causes the disorder X-linked sideroblastic anemia (XLSA). More than 25 unrelated ALAS-E mutations in XLSA patients have been reported. Most XLSA cases are of the pyridoxine-responsive type, but molecular diagnosis of 1 pyridoxine-refractory type XLSA has also been reported. To examine the roles heme plays during hematopoiesis and to create animal models of XLSA, we disrupted the mouse ALAS-E gene. A chemically induced zebrafish mutant (sau) that lacks ALAS-E has also been isolated. Analysis of these ALAS-E mutants unequivocally demonstrated that ALAS-E is the principal isozyme contributing to erythroid heme biosynthesis In ALAS-E-null mutant mouse embryos, erythroid differentiation was arrested, and an abnormal hematopoietic cell fraction emerged that accumulated a large amount of iron diffusely in the cytoplasm. This accumulation of iron was in contrast to that in XLSA patients, as typical ring sideroblasts accumulated iron primarily in mitochondria. These observations suggest that the mode of iron accumulation caused by the lack of ALAS-E is different in primitive and definitive erythroid cells. Thus ALAS-E, and hence heme supply, is necessary for erythroid cell differentiation and iron metabolism.
5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase↗
Depletion of minichromosome maintenance protein 5 in the zebrafish retina causes cell-cycle defect and apoptosis.
In multicellular organisms, the control of genome duplication and cell division must be tightly coordinated. Essential roles of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins for genome duplication have been well established. However, no genetic model has been available to address the function of MCM proteins in the context of vertebrate organogenesis. Here, we present positional cloning of a zebrafish mcm5 mutation and characterization of its retina phenotype. In the retina, mcm5 expression correlates closely with the pattern of cell proliferation. By the third day of development, mcm5 is down-regulated in differentiated cells but is maintained in regions containing retinal stem cells. We demonstrate that a gradual depletion of maternally derived MCM5 protein leads to a prolonged S phase, cell-cycle-exit failure, apoptosis, and reduction in cell number in mcm5(m850) mutant embryos. Interestingly, by the third day of development, increased apoptosis is detectable only in the retina, tectum, and hindbrain but not in other late-proliferating tissues, suggesting that different tissues may employ distinct cellular programs in responding to the depletion of MCM5.
Animals↗
Uptake, accumulation and depuration of sodium perchlorate and sodium arsenate in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
In toxicokinetics studies, interactions between chemicals in mixtures has been largely neglected. This study examines a mixture of perchlorate and arsenate because (1) they have the potential to co-occur in contaminated aquatic habitats, and (2) a previous study by the authors found possible toxicological interactive effects. In the present study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to two concentrations of sodium perchlorate (10 and 100 mg l(-1)), sodium arsenate (1 and 10 mg l(-1)), and the mixture-sodium perchlorate+sodium arsenate (10+1 mg l(-1) and 100+10 mg l(-1) Na(2)HAsO(4)-high mixture) for 90 d. Their uptake and accumulation by zebrafish was evaluated at 10, 30, 60, and 90 d. In addition, depuration was examined at 1, 3, and 5d after cessation of the exposure. The uptake of either chemical was concentration-dependent, with significantly higher uptake at high concentrations at either exposure interval. In contrast, there was no significant difference in whole body residue between single chemicals and the corresponding mixture except for 100 mg l(-1) sodium arsenate at 90 d. However, there was increasing accumulation over time at the high concentration of either chemical alone and their mixture, and this increasing trend was more pronounced in the single chemical exposures than in the mixture. At the concentrations tested in the current study, both chemicals reduced the uptake but enhanced the depuration of the other chemical from the zebrafish. This study represents the first examination of the interaction of two anions-perchlorate and arsenate with respect to toxicokinetics.
Animals↗
The zebrafish colourless gene regulates development of non-ectomesenchymal neural crest derivatives.
Neural crest forms four major categories of derivatives: pigment cells, peripheral neurons, peripheral glia, and ectomesenchymal cells. Some early neural crest cells generate progeny of several fates. How specific cell fates become specified is still poorly understood. Here we show that zebrafish embryos with mutations in the colourless gene have severe defects in most crest-derived cell types, including pigment cells, neurons and specific glia. In contrast, craniofacial skeleton and medial fin mesenchyme are normal. These observations suggest that colourless has a key role in development of non-ectomesenchymal neural crest fates, but not in development of ectomesenchymal fates. Thus, the cls mutant phenotype reveals a segregation of ectomesenchymal and non-ectomesenchymal fates during zebrafish neural crest development. The combination of pigmentation and enteric nervous system defects makes colourless mutations a model for two human neurocristopathies, Waardenburg-Shah syndrome and Hirschsprung's disease.
Animals↗
Direct non-cell autonomous Pax6 activity regulates eye development in the zebrafish.
BACKGROUND: Modifications in Pax6 homeogene expression produce strong eye phenotypes. This suggested to us that eye development might be an appropriate model to verify if homeoprotein intercellular passage has important functions in early development. Similar to other homeoproteins, Pax6 has two domains that enable secretion and internalization by live cells and, thus, intercellular passage. In principle, a straightforward way to test the hypothesis would be to mutate one of the two sequences to produce a 'cell autonomous only' Pax6. However, this was not possible because these sequences are in the homeodomain and their modification would affect Pax6 transcriptional properties. We have thus developed an approach aimed at blocking Pax6 only in the extracellular milieu of developing zebrafish embryos. RESULTS: A first strategy was to inject a one-cell embryo with a mRNA encoding a secreted single-chain anti-Pax6 antibody. A second, complementary, strategy was to inject a Pax6 antibody in the blastula extracellular milieu. In both cases, 'dissymmetric eyes', 'one eye only' and 'no eye' phenotypes were produced. In most cases, lens phenotypes paralleled retina malformations. Although eye phenotypes were analyzed 30 hours post-fertilization, there was a strong correlation between early eye field asymmetry, early asymmetry in Pax6 expression and later-occurring eye malformations. Several controls were introduced, demonstrating that the effect is specific to Pax6 and cannot be explained by intracellular antibody activities. CONCLUSION: This study supports the hypothesis that the Pax6 transcription factor is also a signaling molecule with direct non-cell autonomous activity.
Animals↗