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Published on: July 23, 2013
A critical role for myoglobin in zebrafish development
Danielle H Vlecken1, Janwillem Testerink, Elisabeth B Ott
1Institute of Biology, Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Leiden, Leiden 2333 AL, The Netherlands.
Insights
Myoglobin is crucial for zebrafish development, impacting cardiac function, angiogenesis, and gut formation. This study reveals its expression patterns and essential roles during embryogenesis, even under hypoxic stress.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Zebrafish Models
Background:
- The globin family, including myoglobin, is vital for oxygen transport.
- Myoglobin's role in cardiac development is known, but its embryonic gene regulation is uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the spatial and temporal expression of myoglobin during zebrafish embryogenesis.
- To investigate the impact of hypoxic stress on myoglobin expression.
- To determine the functional role of myoglobin in zebrafish development.
Main Methods:
- Whole mount in situ hybridization to visualize myoglobin mRNA.
- Targeted gene knockdown using morpholinos.
Main Results:
- Myoglobin exhibits ubiquitous maternal expression, followed by novel non-muscular domains.
- Hypoxia induces myoglobin expression in skeletal muscle and the dorsal aorta.
- Myoglobin knockdown causes developmental defects including curvature, vascular issues, and gut reduction.
Conclusions:
- Myoglobin plays a critical role in zebrafish embryonic development.
- Myoglobin is essential for proper angiogenesis and gut development.
- Myoglobin expression is regulated by developmental stage and hypoxic conditions.
Abstract:
The globin family, including hemoglobin, myoglobin, neuroglobin and cytoglobin, plays an important role in oxygen storage and delivery. Myoglobin has been shown to be necessary for cardiac function during development, but no information is currently available on the developmental regulation of myoglobin gene expression during embryogenesis. In this study, we used whole mount in situ hybridization to visualize myoglobin mRNA expression during zebrafish development. Our results show for the first time the spatial and temporal gene expression pattern of myoglobin during embryogenesis. Myoglobin was expressed as a maternal RNA and ubiquitous expression was observed until the end of gastrulation. At later stages of development, we discovered novel expression domains for myoglobin, including several non-muscular ones. Environmental stresses, like low oxygen tension (hypoxia) can lead to a developmental delay in zebrafish embryos. We show here that hypoxic stress induces myoglobin expression in skeletal muscle cells of anterior somites and in the dorsal aorta of zebrafish larvae. Finally, we analyzed the role of myoglobins in development by targeted gene knock-down. Silencing myoglobin in zebrafish embryos with gene-specific morpholinos led to a dose dependent curvature, vascular defects, enlarged pericardia and reduction of the gut. In conclusion, our results indicate that myoglobin plays a crucial role in zebrafish development and is important for angiogenesis and gut development.
