PUBLICATION

nil per os encodes a conserved RNA recognition motif protein required for morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation of digestive organs in zebrafish

Authors
Mayer, A.N. and Fishman, M.C.
ID
ZDB-PUB-030728-19
Date
2003
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   130(17): 3917-3928 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Fishman, Mark C., Mayer, Alan
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Motifs/genetics
  • Amino Acid Motifs/physiology
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation/genetics
  • Cell Differentiation/physiology
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Digestive System/embryology*
  • Endoderm/physiology
  • Epithelium/embryology
  • Liver/embryology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Pancreas/embryology
  • RNA/metabolism*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
12874115 Full text @ Development
Abstract
Digestive organ development occurs through a sequence of morphologically distinct stages, from overtly featureless endoderm, through organ primordia to, ultimately, adult form. The developmental controls that govern progression from one stage to the next are not well understood. To identify genes required for the formation of vertebrate digestive organs we performed a genetic screen in zebrafish. We isolated the nil per os (npo) mutation, which arrests morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation of the gut and exocrine pancreas in a primodial state. We identified the npo gene by positional cloning. It encodes a conserved protein, with multiple RNA recognition motifs, that is related to the yeast protein Mrd1p. During development npo is expressed in a dynamic fashion, functioning cell autonomously to promote organ cytodifferentiation. Antisense-mediated knockdown of npo results in organ hypoplasia, and overexpression of npo causes an overgrowth of gastrointestinal organs. Thus, npo is a gene essential for a key step in the gut morphogenetic sequence.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping