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Hypoxic environments cause differential facial shape variation in zebrafish
Author(s) -
Parsons Trish Elizabeth,
Weinberg Seth M,
Tsang Michael,
Vieira Alexandre R
Publication year - 2012
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.26.1_supplement.907.9
Subject(s) - zebrafish , craniofacial , biology , hypoxia (environmental) , anatomy , fetus , human fertilization , microtia , altitude (triangle) , andrology , zoology , oxygen , gene , genetics , medicine , pregnancy , chemistry , mathematics , geometry , organic chemistry
High altitude populations exhibit increased risk for craniofacial defects including cleft lip, microtia and branchial arch anomaly complex. A hypoxic maternal environment is thought to be the mechanism responsible for these malformations. In this study, zebrafish were used to test the hypothesis that different hypoxic levels will variably affect facial shape. Three sets of zebrafish were raised in uniform conditions with the exception of dissolved oxygen level. One group was raised at normal conditions (controls, n=7), the second at 30% hypoxia (30H) for 24 hours at 24 hours post fertilization (hpf) and the third at 50% hypoxia (50H) for 24 hours at 24 hpf. Larvae from each group were collected at 120 hpf and stained for cartilage. Dorsoventral images were taken of each specimen and then landmarked to capture viscerocranial morphology. A 2D morphometric analysis was performed on the landmark coordinates. The results show that the mean shape of each group was significantly different and the first two principal components showed a clear separation of the three groups with controls at one end of the shape spectrum, the 50H at the other end and 30H spanning the variation in between. This result indicates that low oxygen levels can cause differential variation in facial shape, which has implications not only for high altitude fetal health, but also other environments, behaviors and genes that affect fetal oxygen delivery. This project is supported by the University of Pittsburgh Central Research Development Fund (CRDF). Grant Funding Source : University of Pittsburgh Central