PUBLICATION

Polyamine sensitivity of gap junctions is required for skin pattern formation in zebrafish

Authors
Watanabe, M., Watanabe, D., and Kondo, S.
ID
ZDB-PUB-120705-24
Date
2012
Source
Scientific Reports   2: 473 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Kondo, Shigeru, Watanabe, Masakatsu
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Acetyltransferases/genetics
  • Amino Acid Motifs/genetics
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Binding Sites/genetics
  • Body Patterning/genetics
  • Connexins/classification
  • Connexins/genetics
  • Gap Junctions/metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Phylogeny
  • Polyamines/metabolism*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Skin/growth & development
  • Skin/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/growth & development
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
PubMed
22737406 Full text @ Sci. Rep.
Abstract

Gap junctions allow the direct and bidirectional transfer of small molecules between cells. Polyamine sensitivity, which has been observed for a certain gap junction in vitro, confers rectification property to gap junction. Here we report that the polyamine sensitivity of gap junctions in vivo is crucial for skin pattern formation in zebrafish. Transgenic experiments have revealed that several connexin genes were able to rescue the spot phenotype of mutant zebrafish. Mutational analyses of the N-terminal region of connexins revealed that the ExxxE motif, a hypothetical polyamine-binding site, was important for connexin's role in pattern formation. Ectopic expression of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT), a polyamine metabolic enzyme, also caused stripe pattern changes, which further indicates that the polyamine sensitivity of gap junctions is crucial. This is the first report to show that polyamine sensitivity has a physiologically relevant function and is related to skin pattern formation in animals.

Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping