Premium
Analyses of the craniofacial skeleton of a zebrafish lens degeneration mutant
Author(s) -
FranzOdendaal Tamara Anne
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.646.4
Subject(s) - danio , zebrafish , anatomy , skeleton (computer programming) , craniofacial , biology , lens (geology) , skull , cartilage , genetics , gene , paleontology
The zebrafish mutant, bumper , is characterized as having a lens defect, which begins at 4dpf. Previous work has shown that in the blind morph of Astyanax mexicanus , which also has a lens defect, the ocular skeleton is affected. The ocular skeleton of sighted Astyanax mexicanus and wildtype Danio rerio consists of two scleral ossicles joined by scleral cartilage. In the blind tetra morph, however, the scleral cartilage is persistent and is not replaced by bone. In this study, homozygous and heterozygous bumper mutants of Danio rerio were analyzed. Whole‐mount analyses show that the ocular skeleton is unaffected in this mutant, unlike in blind tetras. Surprisingly, however, several other regions of the craniofacial skeleton are affected; these include the jaws and skull vault. The significance of these results is discussed with respect to the nature and timing of eye degeneration in the two species analyzed. Funding: NSERC, Canada Grant Funding Source NSERC, Canada