PUBLICATION

Control of crystal size and lattice formation by starmaker in otolith biomineralization

Authors
Söllner, C., Burghammer, M., Busch-Nentwich, E., Berger, J., Schwarz, H., Riekel, C., and Nicolson, T.
ID
ZDB-PUB-031014-4
Date
2003
Source
Science (New York, N.Y.)   302(5643): 282-286 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Busch-Nentwich, Elisabeth, Nicolson, Teresa, Söllner, Christian
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Calcification, Physiologic*
  • Calcium Carbonate/chemistry
  • Computational Biology
  • Crystallization
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Ear/embryology
  • Ear/physiology
  • Gene Expression
  • Hearing
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Morphogenesis
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense
  • Otolithic Membrane/chemistry
  • Otolithic Membrane/growth & development
  • Otolithic Membrane/physiology*
  • Otolithic Membrane/ultrastructure
  • Phenotype
  • Postural Balance
  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • Zebrafish/anatomy & histology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/growth & development
  • Zebrafish/physiology*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/chemistry
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/physiology*
PubMed
14551434 Full text @ Science
Abstract
The stone-like otoliths from the ears of teleost fishes are involved in balance and hearing and consist of calcium carbonate crystallites embedded in a protein framework. We report that a previously unknown gene, starmaker, is required in zebrafish for otolith morphogenesis. Reduction of starmaker activity by injection of modified antisense oligonucleotides causes a change in the crystal lattice structure and thus a change in otolith morphology. The expression pattern of starmaker, along with the presence of the protein on the growing otolith, suggest that the expression levels of starmaker control the shape of the otoliths.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping