PUBLICATION

The zebrafish nodal-related gene southpaw is required for visceral and diencephalic left-right asymmetry

Authors
Long, S., Ahmad, N., and Rebagliati, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-030425-22
Date
2003
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   130(11): 2303-2316 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Ahmad, Nadira, Rebagliati, Michael
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Models, Biological
  • DNA, Complementary/genetics
  • Nodal Protein
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Heart Defects, Congenital/embryology
  • Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Mutation
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta/genetics
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense/genetics
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense/pharmacology
  • Animals
  • Organizers, Embryonic/embryology
  • Base Sequence
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Pancreas/embryology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Diencephalon/embryology*
  • Body Patterning/genetics
  • Mesoderm/cytology
(all 24)
PubMed
12702646 Full text @ Development
Abstract
We have identified and characterized a new zebrafish gene, southpaw, that is required for visceral and diencephalic left-right asymmetry. southpaw encodes a new member of the nodal-related class of proteins, a subfamily within the transforming growth factor beta superfamily of secreted factors. southpaw is expressed bilaterally in paraxial mesoderm precursors and then within the left lateral plate mesoderm. At late somite stages, left-sided southpaw expression transiently overlaps the left-sided expression domains of other genes that mark the developing heart, such as lefty2. We have injected morpholinos to block the translation of the southpaw mRNA or to block splicing of the southpaw pre-mRNA. These morpholinos cause a severe disruption of early (cardiac jogging) and late (cardiac looping) aspects of cardiac left-right asymmetry. As the left-right asymmetry of the pancreas is also affected , southpaw appears to regulate left-right asymmetry throughout a large part of the embryo. Consistent with the morphological changes, the left- sided expression domains of downstream genes (cyclops, pitx2, lefty1 and lefty2) are severely downregulated or abolished within the lateral plate mesoderm of Southpaw-deficient embryos. Surprisingly, despite the absence of southpaw expression in the brain, we find that early diencephalic left-right asymmetry also requires Southpaw activity. These observations lead to a model of how visceral organ and brain left-right asymmetry are coordinated during embryogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Figure Gallery (6 images)
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Allele Construct Type Affected Genomic Region
b16
    Deficiency
    b160
      Indel
      cz35
        Insertion
        m168
          Point Mutation
          n1
            Small Deletion
            1 - 5 of 5
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            Human Disease / Model
            No data available
            Sequence Targeting Reagents
            Target Reagent Reagent Type
            ndr2MO1-ndr2MRPHLNO
            spawMO1-spawMRPHLNO
            spawMO2-spawMRPHLNO
            1 - 3 of 3
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            Fish
            Antibodies
            Orthology
            No data available
            Engineered Foreign Genes
            No data available
            Mapping
            No data available