PUBLICATION

transparent, a gene affecting stripe formation in Zebrafish, encodes the mitochondrial protein Mpv17 that is required for iridophore survival

Authors
Krauss, J., Astrinidis, P., Frohnhöfer, H.G., Walderich, B., and Nüsslein-Volhard, C.
ID
ZDB-PUB-130729-5
Date
2013
Source
Biology Open   2(7): 703-710 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Frohnhöfer, Hans Georg, Krauss, Jana, Nüsslein-Volhard, Christiane, Walderich, Brigitte
Keywords
Mpv17, Mitochondria, Chimeras, Iridophore
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
23862018 Full text @ Biol. Open
Abstract

In the skin of adult zebrafish, three pigment cell types arrange into alternating horizontal stripes, melanophores in dark stripes, xanthophores in light interstripes and iridophores in both stripes and interstripes. The analysis of mutants and regeneration studies revealed that this pattern depends on interactions between melanophores and xanthophores; however, the role of iridophores in this process is less understood. We describe the adult viable and fertile mutant transparent (tra), which shows a loss or strong reduction of iridophores throughout larval and adult stages. In addition, in adults only the number of melanophores is strongly reduced, and stripes break up into spots. Stripes in the fins are normal. By cell transplantations we show that tra acts cell-autonomously in iridophores, whereas the reduction in melanophores in the body occurs secondarily as a consequence of iridophore loss. We conclude that differentiated iridophores are required for the accumulation and maintenance of melanophores during pigment pattern formation. The tra mutant phenotype is caused by a small deletion in mpv17, an ubiquituously expressed gene whose protein product, like its mammalian and yeast homologs, localizes to mitochondria. Iridophore death might be the result of mitochondrial dysfunction, consistent with the mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome observed in mammalian mpv17 mutants. The specificity of the tra phenotype is most likely due to redundancy after gene multiplication, making this mutant a valuable model to understand the molecular function of Mpv17 in mitochondria.

Errata / Notes
This article is corrected by ZDB-PUB-220906-7.
Genes / Markers
Marker Marker Type Name
csf1raGENEcolony stimulating factor 1 receptor, a
dnajc5gaGENEDnaJ (Hsp40) homolog, subfamily C, member 5 gamma a
ednrbaGENEendothelin receptor Ba
mitfaGENEmelanocyte inducing transcription factor a
mpv17GENEmitochondrial inner membrane protein MPV17
pnp4aGENEpurine nucleoside phosphorylase 4a
si:ch211-243j20.2GENEsi:ch211-243j20.2
slc30a2GENEsolute carrier family 30 member 2
slc45a2GENEsolute carrier family 45 member 2
trim54GENEtripartite motif containing 54
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Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Allele Construct Type Affected Genomic Region
b4
    Insertion
    b18
      Small Deletion
      tm236b
        Point Mutation
        w2
          Point Mutation
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          Human Disease / Model
          No data available
          Sequence Targeting Reagents
          No data available
          Fish
          1 - 2 of 2
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          Antibodies
          No data available
          Orthology
          Gene Orthology
          mpv17
          1 - 1 of 1
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          Engineered Foreign Genes
          No data available
          Mapping
          No data available