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Double Whole Mount in situ Hybridization of Early Chick Embryos
Published on: October 27, 2008
Fish-specific duplicated dmrt2b contributes to a divergent function through Hedgehog pathway and maintains left-right
Sha Liu1, Zhi Li, Jian-Fang Gui
1State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
Plos One
|October 1, 2009
Summary
The duplicated dmrt2b gene in fish plays a crucial role in embryonic development, influencing somitogenesis and organ asymmetry via the Hedgehog pathway.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Gene duplication provides raw material for functional divergence and innovation.
- The fish-specific dmrt2b gene is a duplication of dmrt2a/terra, but its function remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the function of the fish-specific dmrt2b gene.
- To investigate dmrt2b's role in embryonic development and organ patterning.
Main Methods:
- Dmrt2b knockdown in zebrafish embryos.
- Analysis of somitogenesis, muscle development, neural tube patterning, and organ asymmetry.
- Investigation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway.
Main Results:
- Dmrt2b knockdown resulted in downward tail curvature and U-shaped somites.
- Dmrt2b is essential for somitogenesis and neural tube patterning through the Hedgehog pathway.
- Dmrt2b also plays a role in establishing left-right asymmetry of visceral organs.
Conclusions:
- Fish-specific dmrt2b has diverged in function to regulate somitogenesis via the Hedgehog pathway.
- Dmrt2b maintains the ancestral function of regulating left-right asymmetry.
- Dmrt2b is critical for both somitogenesis and organ asymmetry in fish development.
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