PUBLICATION
Dscamb regulates cone mosaic formation in zebrafish via filopodium-mediated homotypic recognition
- Authors
- Hu, D., Masai, I.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-250327-7
- Date
- 2025
- Source
- Nature communications 16: 25012501 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Hu, Dongpeng, Masai, Ichiro
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Retina/metabolism
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Animals
- Mutation
- Pseudopodia/metabolism
- Cell Differentiation
- Zebrafish*
- Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells*/metabolism
- Zebrafish Proteins*/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins*/metabolism
- PubMed
- 40133281 Full text @ Nat. Commun.
Citation
Hu, D., Masai, I. (2025) Dscamb regulates cone mosaic formation in zebrafish via filopodium-mediated homotypic recognition. Nature communications. 16:25012501.
Abstract
Cone photoreceptors assemble to form a regular mosaic pattern in vertebrate retinas. In zebrafish, four distinct spectral cone types (red, green, blue, and ultraviolet), form a lattice-like pattern. However, the mechanism of cone mosaic formation has been unknown. Here we show that Down Syndrome Cell Adhesion Molecule b (Dscamb) regulates the cone mosaic pattern in zebrafish, especially via red-cone spacing. During photoreceptor differentiation, newly formed cones extend filopodium-like processes laterally to apical surfaces of neighboring cones. Interestingly, red cones extend filopodia, but promptly retract them when they meet their own cone type, suggesting filopodium-mediated, homotypic recognition and self-avoidance. This self-avoidance is compromised in zebrafish dscamb mutants, leading to abnormal clustering of red cones and subsequent disruption of regular cone spacing. Thus, apical filopodium-mediated spacing of the same cone type depends on Dscamb and is essential for cone mosaic formation in zebrafish.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping