PUBLICATION

Cell cycle progression is required for zebrafish somite morphogenesis but not segmentation clock function

Authors
Zhang, L., Kendrick, C., Jülich, D., and Holley, S.A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-080519-5
Date
2008
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   135(12): 2065-2070 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Holley, Scott, Jülich, Dörthe
Keywords
Somitogenesis, Cell cycle, Zebrafish, emi1, Somite morphogenesis
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Body Patterning/physiology
  • Cell Cycle/physiology*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins/physiology*
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
  • Morphogenesis*
  • Mutation
  • Somites/cytology
  • Somites/physiology*
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism
  • Zebrafish Proteins/physiology
PubMed
18480162 Full text @ Development
Abstract
Cell division, differentiation and morphogenesis are coordinated during embryonic development, and frequently are in disarray in pathologies such as cancer. Here, we present a zebrafish mutant that ceases mitosis at the beginning of gastrulation, but that undergoes axis elongation and develops blood, muscle and a beating heart. We identify the mutation as being in early mitotic inhibitor 1 (emi1), a negative regulator of the Anaphase Promoting Complex, and use the mutant to examine the role of the cell cycle in somitogenesis. The mutant phenotype indicates that axis elongation during the segmentation period is driven substantially by cell migration. We find that the segmentation clock, which regulates somitogenesis, functions normally in the absence of cell cycle progression, and observe that mitosis is a modest source of noise for the clock. Somite morphogenesis involves the epithelialization of the somite border cells around a core of mesenchyme. As in wild-type embryos, somite boundary cells are polarized along a Fibronectin matrix in emi1(-/-). The mutants also display evidence of segment polarity. However, in the absence of a normal cell cycle, somites appear to hyper-epithelialize, as the internal mesenchymal cells exit the core of the somite after initial boundary formation. Thus, cell cycle progression is not required during the segmentation period for segmentation clock function but is necessary for the normal segmental arrangement of epithelial borders and internal mesenchymal cells.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping