PUBLICATION
A requirement for kit in embryonic zebrafish melanocyte differentiation is revealed by melanoblast delay
- Authors
- Mellgren, E.M., and Johnson, S.L.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-040810-9
- Date
- 2004
- Source
- Development genes and evolution 214(10): 493-502 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Johnson, Stephen L., Mellgren, Eve M.
- Keywords
- Melanocyte, kit, mitf, Zebrafish, Heterochrony
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Cell Differentiation/physiology*
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
- In Situ Hybridization
- Melanocytes/metabolism*
- Melanocytes/physiology
- Morphogenesis
- Oligonucleotides
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/metabolism*
- Species Specificity
- Temperature
- Time Factors
- Zebrafish/embryology*
- Zebrafish/metabolism
- PubMed
- 15300437 Full text @ Dev. Genes Evol.
Citation
Mellgren, E.M., and Johnson, S.L. (2004) A requirement for kit in embryonic zebrafish melanocyte differentiation is revealed by melanoblast delay. Development genes and evolution. 214(10):493-502.
Abstract
Exploring differences in gene requirements between species can allow us to delineate basic developmental mechanisms, provide insight into patterns of evolution, and explain heterochronic differences in developmental processes. One example of differences in gene requirements between zebrafish and mammals is the requirement of the kit receptor tyrosine kinase in melanocyte development. kit is required for migration, survival and differentiation of all neural crest-derived melanocytes in mammals. In contrast, zebrafish kit is not required for differentiation of embryonic melanocytes during normal development. When melanoblast development in zebrafish embryos is delayed by injecting morpholinos targeted to the mitfa gene, we show that these delayed melanoblasts fail to differentiate in kit mutants. Thus, we show that there is a kit requirement for melanocyte differentiation in zebrafish when melanoblast development is delayed. Furthermore, we show that kit is not involved in maintaining melanocyte precursors through the developmental delay, but instead is required for differentiation of melanocytes after the block on their development is removed. Finally, we suggest there is a heterochronic shift in the onset of melanocyte differentiation between fish and mouse, and developmental delay of melanoblast development in zebrafish removes this heterochronic difference.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping