Cloning of zebrafish Mustn1 orthologs and their expression during early development

Mustn1 is a small nuclear protein that is involved in the development and regeneration of the musculoskeletal system. Previous work established a role for Mustn1 in myogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. In addition, recent evidence suggests a potential role for Mustn1 in cilia function in zebrafish. A detailed study of Mustn1 expression has yet to be conducted in zebrafish. As such, we report herein the cloning of the zebrafish Mustn1 orthologs, mustn1a and mustn1b, and their expression during zebrafish embryonic and larval development. Results indicate a 44% nucleotide identity between the two paralogs. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that the Mustn1a and 1b predicted proteins were highly related to other vertebrate members of the Mustn1 protein family. Whole mount in situ hybridization revealed expression of both mustn1a and 1b at the 7-somite stage through 72hpf in structures such as Kupffer's vesicle, segmental mesoderm, head structures, and otic vesicle. Additionally, in 5day old larva, mustn1a and 1b expression is detected in the neurocranium, otic capsule, and the gut. Although both were expressed in the neurocranium, mustn1a was localized in the hypophyseal fenestra whereas mustn1b was found near the posterior basicapsular commissure. mustn1b also displayed expression in the ceratohyal and ceratobranchial elements of the pharyngeal skeleton. These expression patterns were verified temporally by q-PCR analysis. Taken together, we conclude that Mustn1 expression is conserved in vertebrates and that the variations in expression of the two zebrafish paralogs suggest different modes of molecular regulation.