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Zebrafish mutants with disrupted early T‐cell and thymus development identified in early pressure screen
Author(s) -
Trede Nikolaus S.,
Ota Tatsuya,
Kawasaki Hirohide,
Paw Barry H.,
Katz Tammisty,
Demarest Bradley,
Hutchinson Sarah,
Zhou Yi,
Hersey Candace,
Zapata Agustin,
Amemiya Chris T.,
Zon Leonard I.
Publication year - 2008
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/dvdy.21683
Subject(s) - biology , zebrafish , organogenesis , danio , lymphopoiesis , phenotype , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , haematopoiesis , in situ hybridization , embryo , genetics , embryonic stem cell , stem cell , gene , gene expression
Generation of mature T lymphocytes requires an intact hematopoietic stem cell compartment and functional thymic epithelium. We used the zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) to isolate mutations that affect the earliest steps in T lymphopoiesis and thymic organogenesis. Here we describe the results of a genetic screen in which gynogenetic diploid offspring from heterozygous females were analyzed by whole‐mount in situ hybridization for the expression of rag‐1 . To assess immediately if a global defect in hematopoiesis resulted in the mutant phenotype, α‐embryonic globin expression was simultaneously assayed for multilineage defects. In this report, we present the results obtained with this strategy and show representative mutant phenotypes affecting early steps in T‐cell development and/or thymic epithelial cell development. We discuss the advantage of this strategy and the general usefulness of the zebrafish as a model system for vertebrate lymphopoiesis and thymic organogenesis. Developmental Dynamics 237:2575–2584, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.