PUBLICATION
Development without germ cells: The role of the germ line in zebrafish sex differentiation
- Authors
- Slanchev, K., Stebler, J., de la Cueva-Mendez, G., and Raz, E.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-050225-10
- Date
- 2005
- Source
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102(11): 4074-4079 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Raz, Erez, Slanchev, Krasimir
- Keywords
- cell ablation, parD, sex determination, primordial germ cell, dead end
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/metabolism
- Diphtheria Toxin/pharmacology
- Escherichia coli Proteins/genetics
- Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism
- Female
- Male
- Ovum/drug effects
- Ovum/physiology*
- Sex Determination Processes*
- Spermatozoa/drug effects
- Spermatozoa/physiology*
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- PubMed
- 15728735 Full text @ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Citation
Slanchev, K., Stebler, J., de la Cueva-Mendez, G., and Raz, E. (2005) Development without germ cells: The role of the germ line in zebrafish sex differentiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 102(11):4074-4079.
Abstract
The progenitors of the gametes, the primordial germ cells (PGCs) are typically specified early in the development in positions, which are distinct from the gonad. These cells then migrate toward the gonad where they differentiate into sperms and eggs. Here, we study the role of the germ cells in somatic development and particularly the role of the germ line in the sex differentiation in zebrafish. To this end, we ablated the germ cells using two independent methods and followed the development of the experimental fish. First, PGCs were ablated by knocking down the function of dead end, a gene important for the survival of this lineage. Second, a method to eliminate the PGCs using the toxin-antitoxin components of the parD bacterial genetic system was used. Specifically, we expressed a bacterial toxin Kid preferentially in the PGCs and at the same time protected somatic cells by uniformly expressing the specific antidote Kis. Our results demonstrate an unexpected role for the germ line in promoting female development because PGC-ablated fish invariably developed as males.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping