PUBLICATION

The medaka dhc2 mutant reveals conserved and distinct mechanisms of Hedgehog signaling in teleosts

Authors
Yamamoto, T., Tsukahara, T., Ishiguro, T., Hagiwara, H., Taira, M., Takeda, H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150204-7
Date
2015
Source
BMC Developmental Biology   15: 9 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Takeda, Hiroyuki
Keywords
Hedgehog signaling, Cilia, Medaka fish, Fused, dhc2, Cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain 2, Neural tube
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Body Patterning
  • Dyneins/genetics*
  • Hedgehog Proteins/metabolism*
  • Mutation*
  • Oryzias/embryology*
  • Oryzias/genetics
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Spinal Cord/embryology
PubMed
25645819 Full text @ BMC Dev. Biol.
Abstract
BackgroundPrimary cilia are essential for Hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction in vertebrates. Although the core components of the Hh pathway are highly conserved, the dependency on cilia in Hh signaling is considered to be lower in fish than in mice, suggesting the presence of species-specific mechanisms for Hh signal transduction.ResultsTo precisely understand the role of cilia in Hh signaling in fish and explore the evolution of Hh signaling, we have generated a maternal-zygotic medaka (Oryzias latipes) mutant that lacks cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain 2 (dhc2; MZdhc2), a component required for retrograde intraflagellar transport. We found that MZdhc2 exhibited the shortened cilia and partial defects in Hh signaling, although the Hh defects were milder than zebrafish mutants which completely lack cilia. This result suggests that Hh activity in fish depends on the length of cilium. However, the activity of Hh signaling in MZdhc2 appeared to be higher than that in mouse Dnchc2 mutants, suggesting a lower requirement for cilia in Hh signaling in fish. We confirmed that Ptch1 receptor is exclusively localized on the cilium in fish as in mammals. Subsequent analyses revealed that Fused, an essential mediator for Hh signaling in Drosophila and fish but not in mammals, augments the activity of Hh signaling in fish as a transcriptional target of Hh signaling.ConclusionsCiliary requirement for Hh signaling in fish is lower than that in mammals, possibly due to fused-mediated positive feedback in Hh signaling. The finding of this fish-specific augmentation provides a novel insight into the evolution of Hh signaling.
Genes / Markers
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping