PUBLICATION

Pulses of Notch activation synchronise oscillating somite cells and entrain the zebrafish segmentation clock

Authors
Soza-Ried, C., Oztürk, E., Ish-Horowicz, D., Lewis, J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-140513-175
Date
2014
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   141: 1780-8 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Lewis, Julian
Keywords
Delta, Notch, Oscillation, Segmentation clock, Somites, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Models, Biological
  • Somites/cytology*
  • Somites/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • Cell Count
  • Heat-Shock Response
  • Animals
  • Biological Clocks*
  • Membrane Proteins/metabolism
  • Receptor, Notch1/metabolism*
  • Transgenes
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism*
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism
  • Time Factors
(all 19)
PubMed
24715465 Full text @ Development
Abstract
Formation of somites, the rudiments of vertebrate body segments, is an oscillatory process governed by a gene-expression oscillator, the segmentation clock. This operates in each cell of the presomitic mesoderm (PSM), but the individual cells drift out of synchrony when Delta/Notch signalling fails, causing gross anatomical defects. We and others have suggested that this is because synchrony is maintained by pulses of Notch activation, delivered cyclically by each cell to its neighbours, that serve to adjust or reset the phase of the intracellular oscillator. This, however, has never been proved. Here, we provide direct experimental evidence, using zebrafish containing a heat-shock-driven transgene that lets us deliver artificial pulses of expression of the Notch ligand DeltaC. In DeltaC-defective embryos, in which endogenous Notch signalling fails, the artificial pulses restore synchrony, thereby rescuing somite formation. The spacing of segment boundaries produced by repetitive heat-shocking varies according to the time interval between one heat-shock and the next. The induced synchrony is manifest both morphologically and at the level of the oscillations of her1, a core component of the intracellular oscillator. Thus, entrainment of intracellular clocks by periodic activation of the Notch pathway is indeed the mechanism maintaining cell synchrony during somitogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Figure Gallery (11 images) / 2
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Expression
Phenotype
Fish Conditions Stage Phenotype Figure
dlctw212b/tw212bheat shockLong-pec
dlctw212b/tw212bheat shockLong-pec
dlctw212b/tw212b; zf523Tgstandard conditionsLong-pec
dlctw212b/tw212b; zf523Tgstandard conditionsLong-pec
1 - 4 of 4
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Mutations / Transgenics
Allele Construct Type Affected Genomic Region
tw212b
    		Point Mutation
    zf523TgTransgenic Insertion
      1 - 2 of 2
      Show
      Human Disease / Model
      No data available
      Sequence Targeting Reagents
      No data available
      Fish
      Fish
      dlctw212b/tw212b
      dlctw212b/tw212b; zf523Tg
      WT
      zf523Tg
      1 - 4 of 4
      Show
      Antibodies
      Name Type Antigen Genes Isotypes Host Organism
      Ab2-dlcmonoclonal
        		IgG2aMouse
        1 - 1 of 1
        Show
        Orthology
        No data available
        Engineered Foreign Genes
        No data available
        Mapping
        No data available
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        Citation
        Soza-Ried, C., Oztürk, E., Ish-Horowicz, D., Lewis, J. (2014) Pulses of Notch activation synchronise oscillating somite cells and entrain the zebrafish segmentation clock. Development (Cambridge, England). 141:1780-8.