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Updated: May 13, 2026
High Resolution Whole Mount In Situ Hybridization within Zebrafish Embryos to Study Gene Expression and Function
Published on: October 19, 2013
Yes-associated protein (yap) is required for early embryonic development in zebrafish (danio rerio)
Jingying Hu1, Shuna Sun, Qiu Jiang
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Medical School and Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, PR China.
Abstract:
The hippo (Hpo) signaling pathway plays a critical role in regulation of organ size. The kinase cascade ultimately antagonizes the transcriptional co-activator Yki/YAP, which is a key regulator of cell proliferation and apoptosis. In this study, we performed a knocking down study using antisense morpholino (MO) reagents and found that zebrafish YAP, a key transcriptional co-activator of Hpo pathway, plays a critical role in early embryonic development. At the cellular level, yap inhibition increases apoptosis and decreases cell proliferation. Reduction of yap function severely delays several developmental events, including gastrulation, cardiogenesis and hematopoiesis. Knockdown of yap showed some evidence of ventralization, including reduction of dorsally expressed marker goosecoid (gsc), expansion of ventral marker gata2, disruption of the somites, and reduction in head size. Finally, we performed a preliminary analysis with real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the candidate targets of zebrafish Hpo pathway. In conclusion, our results revealed that zebrafish yap coordinately regulates cell proliferation and apoptosis and is required for dorsoventral axis formation, gastrulation, cardiogenesis, hematopoiesis, and somitogenesis.
Insights
Zebrafish YAP is essential for embryonic development, controlling cell proliferation and apoptosis. Its reduction disrupts key processes like gastrulation and organ formation, highlighting its critical role.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The Hippo (Hpo) signaling pathway regulates organ size.
- Yeast and shaggy-like kinase (Yki)/Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a key transcriptional co-activator in this pathway.
- YAP antagonizes the Hpo kinase cascade, influencing cell proliferation and apoptosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of zebrafish YAP in early embryonic development.
- To understand the cellular and developmental consequences of YAP inhibition.
Main Methods:
- Antisense morpholino (MO) knockdown strategy was employed in zebrafish embryos.
- Analysis of cellular processes including apoptosis and proliferation.
- Assessment of key developmental events and gene expression markers.
Main Results:
- Yap inhibition led to increased apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation.
- Reduction of Yap function caused severe delays in gastrulation, cardiogenesis, and hematopoiesis.
- Yap knockdown resulted in ventralization, affecting dorsoventral axis formation, somite development, and head size.
Conclusions:
- Zebrafish YAP is crucial for coordinating cell proliferation and apoptosis during embryogenesis.
- YAP is indispensable for proper dorsoventral axis formation, gastrulation, cardiogenesis, hematopoiesis, and somitogenesis.
