PUBLICATION

The broad role of Nkx3.2 in the development of the zebrafish axial skeleton

Authors
Waldmann, L., Leyhr, J., Zhang, H., Öhman-Mägi, C., Allalou, A., Haitina, T.
ID
ZDB-PUB-210820-6
Date
2021
Source
PLoS One   16: e0255953 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Bone and Bones
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Homeodomain Proteins*
  • Transcription Factors
  • Zebrafish*
PubMed
34411150 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
The transcription factor Nkx3.2 (Bapx1) is an important chondrocyte maturation inhibitor. Previous Nkx3.2 knockdown and overexpression studies in non-mammalian gnathostomes have focused on its role in primary jaw joint development, while the function of this gene in broader skeletal development is not fully described. We generated a mutant allele of nkx3.2 in zebrafish with CRISPR/Cas9 and applied a range of techniques to characterize skeletal phenotypes at developmental stages from larva to adult, revealing loss of the jaw joint, fusions in bones of the occiput, morphological changes in the Weberian apparatus, and the loss or deformation of bony elements derived from basiventral cartilages of the vertebrae. Axial phenotypes are reminiscent of Nkx3.2 knockout in mammals, suggesting that the function of this gene in axial skeletal development is ancestral to osteichthyans. Our results highlight the broad role of nkx3.2 in zebrafish skeletal development and its context-specific functions in different skeletal elements.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping