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High Resolution Whole Mount In Situ Hybridization within Zebrafish Embryos to Study Gene Expression and Function
Published on: October 19, 2013
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atoh8 expression pattern in early zebrafish embryonic development
Ninfa Fragale1, Satya Srirama Karthik Divvela1, Beate Brand-Saberi2
1Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Institute of Anatomy, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany.
Histochemistry and Cell Biology
|June 13, 2021
Summary
Atonal homologue 8 (atoh8) is newly found in zebrafish sclerotome and brain development. This study details its expression patterns, revealing novel roles in embryonic development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Zebrafish Model Organism
Background:
- Atonal homologue 8 (atoh8) is a transcription factor with known roles in other species.
- Its function in zebrafish embryonic development is largely unknown.
- Detailed spatio-temporal expression data for atoh8 in zebrafish is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To precisely map the tissue distribution of atoh8 in embryonic zebrafish.
- To investigate the spatio-temporal expression of atoh8 during the first 24 hours post-fertilization (hpf).
- To clarify the role of atoh8 in zebrafish embryonic development.
Main Methods:
- Whole mount in situ hybridization in zebrafish embryos.
- Spatio-temporal expression analysis of atoh8 during early development (0-24 hpf).
- Double in situ hybridization with myoD marker.
Main Results:
- atoh8 is expressed in the paraxial mesoderm early on.
- atoh8 is localized to the sclerotome, not the myotome, during segmentation.
- Expression domains were also identified in the developing cerebellum and hindbrain, distinct from neural crest cells.
Conclusions:
- atoh8 plays a role in zebrafish sclerotome, cerebellum, and hindbrain development.
- This study provides novel insights into early sclerotome development in zebrafish.
- The findings challenge previous assumptions about atoh8 expression in neural crest cells.
