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Published on: February 22, 2019
Zebrafish prox1b mutants develop a lymphatic vasculature, and prox1b does not specifically mark lymphatic endothelial
Shijie Tao1, Merlijn Witte, Robert J Bryson-Richardson
1Hubrecht Institute-Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Background:
The expression of the Prospero homeodomain transcription factor (Prox1) in a subset of cardinal venous cells specifies the lymphatic lineage in mice. Prox1 is also indispensible for the maintenance of lymphatic cell fate, and is therefore considered a master control gene for lymphangiogenesis in mammals. In zebrafish, there are two prox1 paralogues, the previously described prox1 (also known as prox1a) and the newly identified prox1b.
Principal Findings:
To investigate the role of the prox1b gene in zebrafish lymphangiogenesis, we knocked-down prox1b and found that depletion of prox1b mRNA did not cause lymphatic defects. We also generated two different prox1b mutant alleles, and maternal-zygotic homozygous mutant embryos were viable and did not show any lymphatic defects. Furthermore, the expression of prox1b was not restricted to lymphatic vessels during zebrafish development.
Conclusion:
We conclude that Prox1b activity is not essential for embryonic lymphatic development in zebrafish.
