Premium
Endogenous retinoids in the zebrafish embryo and adult
Author(s) -
Costaridis P.,
Horton C.,
Zeitlinger J.,
Holder N.,
Maden M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0177(199601)205:1<41::aid-aja4>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - biology , zebrafish , endogeny , embryo , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , genetics , gene
Retinoic acid and its isoforms are considered to be endogenous compounds which regulateembryonic development. In the work reported here we have determined which retinoids arepresent in zebrafish embryos and how their levels change throughout development and intoadulthood. All‐ trans ‐RA is present and its level does not change significantly duringembryogenesis. We failed to detect other retinoic acid isomers such as 9‐ cis ‐RA and4‐ oxo ‐RA, but we did observe a rapid rise in the level of didehydroretinol aftergastrulation. The most striking result is that the zebrafish embryo, like Xenopus andtunicates, contains a vast excess of t‐retinal whereas the embryos of higher vertebrates have anexcess of t‐retinol. However, as the zebrafish grows, the levels of t‐retinol rise so that byadulthood t‐retinol and t‐retinal concentrations are more equivalent, indicating a changing patternof retinoid metabolism with growth. To examine the significance of the use of t‐retinal as aprecursor of t‐RA we treated embryos with disulphiram, an inhibitor of retinaldehydedehydrogenase. This resulted in embryos with an undulating notochord and correspondinglyabnormal somites and ventral floor plate. In contrast to this effect, 4‐methylpyrazole, whichinhibits alcohol dehydrogenases, had no effect on development. This effect of disulphiramsuggests that t‐RA may be involved in the establishment of the anteroposterior axis of theembryo. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.