Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Ploidy Manipulation of Zebrafish Embryos with Heat Shock 2 Treatment
Published on: December 16, 2016
Heat shock transcription factor 2 is not essential for embryonic development, fertility, or adult cognitive and
D Randy McMillan1, Elisabeth Christians, Michael Forster
1Departments of Internal Medicine. Pediatrics. Pathology. Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75235, USA.
Abstract:
Members of the heat shock factor (HSF) family are evolutionarily conserved regulators that share a highly homologous DNA-binding domain. In mammals, HSF1 is the main factor controlling the stress-inducible expression of Hsp genes while the functions of HSF2 and HSF4 are less clear. Based on its developmental profile of expression, it was hypothesized that HSF2 may play an essential role in brain and heart development, spermatogenesis, and erythroid differentiation. To directly assess this hypothesis and better understand the underlying mechanisms that require HSF2, we generated Hsf2 knockout mice. Here, we report that Hsf2(-/-) mice are viable and fertile and exhibit normal life span and behavioral functions. We conclude that HSF2, most probably because its physiological roles are integrated into a redundant network of gene regulation and function, is dispensable for normal development, fertility, and postnatal psychomotor function.
Related Concept Videos
Meiosis II
Meiosis II
The timing and cell division patterns of meiosis differ between males and females. In male meiosis, the centrosomes are part of the formation of the meiotic spindle. However, in oocytes, including that of humans, Drosophila,...
Master Transcription Regulators

