PUBLICATION
Zebrafish bashful/laminin-alpha1 mutants exhibit multiple axon guidance defects
- Authors
- Paulus, J.D., and Halloran, M.C.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-051107-18
- Date
- 2006
- Source
- Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists 235(1): 213-224 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Halloran, Mary, Paulus, Jeremiah
- Keywords
- laminin, zebrafish, axon guidance, retinotectal, bashful, Mauthner, spinal cord, motor axons, reticulospinal, branchiomotor
- MeSH Terms
-
- Alleles
- Animals
- Axons/physiology*
- Cell Adhesion/physiology
- Cell Movement/genetics
- Cell Nucleus/metabolism
- Laminin/genetics*
- Laminin/metabolism
- Mutation*
- Neurons/cytology
- Rhombencephalon/cytology
- Rhombencephalon/embryology
- Spinal Cord/cytology
- Spinal Cord/embryology
- Zebrafish/abnormalities
- Zebrafish/embryology
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- PubMed
- 16261616 Full text @ Dev. Dyn.
Citation
Paulus, J.D., and Halloran, M.C. (2006) Zebrafish bashful/laminin-alpha1 mutants exhibit multiple axon guidance defects. Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 235(1):213-224.
Abstract
Laminin is known to provide a highly permissive substratum and in some cases directional information for axon outgrowth in vitro. However, there is still little known about laminin function in guiding axons in vivo. We investigated the axon guidance role of laminin-alpha1 in the developing zebrafish nervous system. Analysis of zebrafish bashful (bal)/laminin-a1 mutants revealed multiple functions for laminin-alpha1 in the outgrowth and guidance of central nervous system (CNS) axons. Most CNS axon pathways are defective in bal embryos. Some axon types, including retinal ganglion cell axons, early forebrain axons, and hindbrain reticulospinal axons, make specific pathfinding errors, suggesting laminin-alpha1 is required for directional decisions. Other axon tracts are defasciculated or not fully extended in bal embryos, suggesting a function for laminin-alpha1 in regulating adhesion or providing a permissive substratum for growth. In addition, some neurons have excessively branched axons in bal, indicating a potential role for laminin-alpha1 in branching. In contrast to CNS axons, most peripheral axons appear normal in bal mutants. Our results, thus, reveal important and diverse functions for laminin-alpha1 in guiding developing axons in vivo. Developmental Dynamics, 2005. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping