PUBLICATION
Pairing of segmentation clock genes drives robust pattern formation
- Authors
- Zinani, O.Q.H., Keseroğlu, K., Ay, A., Özbudak, E.M.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-201229-35
- Date
- 2020
- Source
- Nature 589(7842): 431-436 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keseroglu, Kemal, Ozbudak, Ertugrul
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors/genetics*
- Biological Clocks/genetics
- Body Patterning/genetics*
- CLOCK Proteins/genetics*
- Mutation
- Single-Cell Analysis
- Transcription Factors/genetics*
- Zebrafish/embryology*
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
- PubMed
- 33361814 Full text @ Nature
Citation
Zinani, O.Q.H., Keseroğlu, K., Ay, A., Özbudak, E.M. (2020) Pairing of segmentation clock genes drives robust pattern formation. Nature. 589(7842):431-436.
Abstract
Gene expression is an inherently stochastic process1,2; however, organismal development and homeostasis require cells to coordinate the spatiotemporal expression of large sets of genes. In metazoans, pairs of co-expressed genes often reside in the same chromosomal neighbourhood, with gene pairs representing 10 to 50% of all genes, depending on the species3-6. Because shared upstream regulators can ensure correlated gene expression, the selective advantage of maintaining adjacent gene pairs remains unknown6. Here, using two linked zebrafish segmentation clock genes, her1 and her7, and combining single-cell transcript counting, genetic engineering, real-time imaging and computational modelling, we show that gene pairing boosts correlated transcription and provides phenotypic robustness for the formation of developmental patterns. Our results demonstrate that the prevention of gene pairing disrupts oscillations and segmentation, and the linkage of her1 and her7 is essential for the development of the body axis in zebrafish embryos. We predict that gene pairing may be similarly advantageous in other organisms, and our findings could lead to the engineering of precise synthetic clocks in embryos and organoids.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping