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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Microbead Implantation in the Zebrafish Embryo
Published on: July 30, 2015
FGF-dependent left-right asymmetry patterning in zebrafish is mediated by Ier2 and Fibp1
1Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Establishment of left-right asymmetry in vertebrates requires nodal, Wnt-PCP and FGF signaling and involves ciliogenesis in a laterality organ. Effector genes through which FGF signaling affects laterality have not been described. We isolated the zebrafish ier2 and fibp1 genes as FGF target genes and show that their protein products interact. Knock down of these factors interferes with establishment of organ laterality and causes defective cilia formation in Kupffer's Vesicle, the zebrafish laterality organ. Cilia are also lost after suppression of FGF8, but can be rescued by injection of ier2 and fibp1 mRNA. We conclude that Ier2 and Fibp1 mediate FGF signaling in ciliogenesis in Kupffer's Vesicle and in the establishment of laterality in the zebrafish embryo.
