PUBLICATION

The zebrafish homologue of the ret receptor and its pattern of expression during embryogenesis

Authors
Marcos-Gutiérrez, C.V., Wilson, S.W., Holder, N., and Pachnis, V.
ID
ZDB-PUB-970327-5
Date
1997
Source
Oncogene   14(8): 879-889 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Holder, Nigel, Pachnis, V., Wilson, Steve
Keywords
tyrosine kinase receptor; zebrafish; c-ret proto-oncogene; nervous system; excretory system
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Central Nervous System/embryology
  • Chickens
  • Drosophila Proteins*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Humans
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peripheral Nerves/embryology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret
  • Proto-Oncogenes
  • Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/genetics*
  • Restriction Mapping
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Zebrafish Proteins
PubMed
9050987 Full text @ Oncogene
Abstract
The c-ret proto-oncogene, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase gene superfamily, plays a critical role in the development of the excretory system and the enteric and autonomic nervous systems of mammalian embryos. To study the potential function of the c-ret locus in lower vertebrates, we have isolated its zebrafish homologue, ret1 and established its expression pattern during embryogenesis. Ret1 mRNA first appears during early somitogenesis in the presumptive brain, spinal cord and excretory system. Within the CNS, expression of ret1 is detected in primary motor and sensory (Rohon-Beard) neurons. Ret1 transcripts are also expressed in subsets of neural crest cells and cranial ganglia as well as in the enteric nervous system. In the excretory system, expression is detected in the developing nephric duct and the pronephros. Our findings reveal a remarkable similarity in the expression pattern of c-ret between higher and lower vertebrates, suggesting that the function of this locus has been conserved throughout vertebrate evolution. Furthermore, the conservation of ret1 expression in cell types which remain unaffected by the mammalian c-ret mutations, such as motor and sensory neurons, suggests a function of this receptor in these cell lineages.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping