PUBLICATION

Homologues of c-hairy1 (her9) and lunatic fringe in zebrafish are expressed in the developing central nervous system, but not in the presomitic mesoderm

Authors
Leve, C., Gajewski, M., Rohr, K.B., and Tautz, D.
ID
ZDB-PUB-011116-5
Date
2001
Source
Development genes and evolution   211(10): 493-500 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Gajewski, Martin, Rohr, Klaus
Keywords
zebrafish, somitogenesis, oscillator, central nervous system, boundaries, somite boundary formation, paraxial mesoderm, notch, gene, segmentation, hairy, somitogenesis, clock, morphogenesis, mouse
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
  • Central Nervous System/cytology
  • Central Nervous System/embryology*
  • Central Nervous System/metabolism*
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Glycosyltransferases*
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Mesoderm/metabolism*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Proteins/metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger/analysis
  • RNA, Messenger/genetics
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Somites/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • Zebrafish Proteins*
PubMed
11702199 Full text @ Dev. Genes Evol.
Abstract
A number of genes that are involved in somitogenesis in vertebrates are cyclically expressed in the presomitic mesoderm. These include homologues of the Drosophila genes fringe and hairy. We have analysed here two genes that belong to these classes in the zebrafish, namely the apparent orthologues of lunatic fringe (l-fng) and of c-hairy1 (called her9). However, unlike the respective mouse and chicken genes, they are not expressed cyclically in the presomitic mesoderm. Instead, both genes are mainly expressed in the central nervous system. her9 is predominantly expressed in the fore- and midbrain, and transiently in the hindbrain. Thus, the previously identified and only very distantly related her1 gene of zebrafish has more similarities to the expression of the c-hairy1 gene than its apparent orthologue her9, indicating that sequence similarity and similarity of function are not necessarily linked in this case. l-fng expression is found in alternating pre-rhombomeres, comparable to the equivalent mouse gene expression and in the anterior compartments of the mature somites, which was also shown for the chicken l-fng gene. The latter expression indicates that it might be involved in boundary definition and cell fate decision processes, rather than in pre-patterning of the somites. Interestingly, a similar role has previously been inferred for the grasshopper homologue of l-fng. This suggests that the function of l-fng in boundary definition of the somites might be ancestral, while its recruitment to the pre-patterning process of the somites might be a derived feature in higher vertebrates.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping