Mutations affecting tail and notochord development in the ascidian Ciona savignyi

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (15) ◽  
pp. 3293-3301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Nakatani ◽  
R. Moody ◽  
W.C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Nerve Cord ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Ciona Savignyi ◽  
New Information ◽  
Nerve Tracts ◽  
Notochord Cells ◽  
Dorsal Nerve

Ascidians are among the most distant chordate relatives of the vertebrates. However, ascidians share many features with vertebrates including a notochord and hollow dorsal nerve cord. A screen for N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced mutations affecting early development in the ascidian Ciona savignyi resulted in the isolation of a number of mutants including the complementing notochord mutants chongmague and chobi. In chongmague embryos the notochord fails to develop, and the notochord cells instead adopt a mesenchyme-like fate. The failure of notochord development in chongmague embryos results in a severe truncation of tail, although development of the tail muscles and caudal nerve tracts appears largely normal. Chobi embryos also have a truncation of the tail stemming from a disruption of the notochord. However, in chobi embryos the early development of the notochord appears normal and defects occur later as the notochord attempts to extend and direct elongation of the tail. We find in chobi tailbud embryos that the notochord is often bent, with cells clumped together, rather than extended as a column. These results provide new information on the function and development of the ascidian notochord. In addition, the results demonstrate how the unique features of ascidians can be used in genetic analysis of morphogenesis.

Early embryonic expression ofFGF4/6/9gene and its role in the induction of mesenchyme and notochord inCiona savignyiembryos

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (7) ◽  
pp. 1729-1738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaoru S. Imai ◽  
Nori Satoh ◽  
Yutaka Satou
Keyword(s):  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
Nuclear Localization ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Ciona Savignyi ◽  
Mesenchyme Cell ◽  
Notochord Cells ◽  
Mesenchyme Cells ◽  
Endodermal Cells

In early Ciona savignyi embryos, nuclear localization of β-catenin is the first step of endodermal cell specification, and triggers the activation of various target genes. A cDNA for Cs-FGF4/6/9, a gene activated downstream of β-catenin signaling, was isolated and shown to encode an FGF protein with features of both FGF4/6 and FGF9/20. The early embryonic expression of Cs-FGF4/6/9 was transient and the transcript was seen in endodermal cells at the 16- and 32-cell stages, in notochord and muscle cells at the 64-cell stage, and in nerve cord and muscle cells at the 110-cell stage; the gene was then expressed again in cells of the nervous system after neurulation. When the gene function was suppressed with a specific antisense morpholino oligo, the differentiation of mesenchyme cells was completely blocked, and the fate of presumptive mesenchyme cells appeared to change into that of muscle cells. The inhibition of mesenchyme differentiation was abrogated by coinjection of the morpholino oligo and synthetic Cs-FGF4/6/9 mRNA. Downregulation of β-catenin nuclear localization resulted in the absence of mesenchyme cell differentiation due to failure of the formation of signal-producing endodermal cells. Injection of synthetic Cs-FGF4/6/9 mRNA in β-catenin-downregulated embryos evoked mesenchyme cell differentiation. These results strongly suggest that Cs-FGF4/6/9 produced by endodermal cells acts an inductive signal for the differentiation of mesenchyme cells. On the other hand, the role of Cs-FGF4/6/9 in the induction of notochord cells is partial; the initial process of the induction was inhibited by Cs-FGF4/6/9 morpholino oligo, but notochord-specific genes were expressed later to form a partial notochord.

scholarly journals Genetic analysis of transposon-induced mutations of the Rac prophage in Escherichia coli K-12 which affect expression and function of recE.

1983 ◽  
Vol 156 (2) ◽  
pp. 718-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
K E Fouts ◽  
T Wasie-Gilbert ◽  
D K Willis ◽  
A J Clark ◽  
S D Barbour
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Affect Expression ◽  
K 12 ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals DNA SEQUENCES OF FRAMESHIFT AND OTHER MUTATIONS INDUCED BY ICR-170 IN YEAST

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-241
Author(s):  
Joachim F Ernst ◽  
D Michael Hampsey ◽  
Fred Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Sequence Analyses ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Frameshift Mutations

ABSTRACT ICR-170-induced mutations in the CYC1 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were investigated by genetic and DNA sequence analyses. Genetic analysis of 33 cyc1 mutations induced by ICR-170 and sequence analysis of eight representatives demonstrated that over one-third were frameshift mutations that occurred at one site corresponding to amino acid positions 29-30, whereas the remaining mutations were distributed more-or-less randomly, and a few of these were not frameshift mutations. The sequence results indicate that ICR-170 primarily induces G·C additions at sites containing monotonous runs of three G·C base pairs. However, some (see PDF) sites within the CYC1 gene were not mutated by ICR-170. Thus, ICR-170 is a relatively specific mutagen that preferentially acts on certain sites with monotonous runs of G·C base pairs.

Early development in mice. IV. Age at disappearance of the rooting response: Genetic analysis in newborn mice

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 453-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre L. Roubertoux ◽  
Laurence Baumann ◽  
Sylvie Ragueneau ◽  
Catherine Semal
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Newborn Mice ◽  
Rooting Response

Growth cones stall and collapse during axon outgrowth in Caenorhabditis elegans

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (20) ◽  
pp. 4489-4498 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Knobel ◽  
E.M. Jorgensen ◽  
M.J. Bastiani
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Growth Cone ◽  
Nerve Cord ◽  
Body Wall ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
The Body ◽  
Axon Outgrowth ◽  
Attachment Structures ◽  
Dorsal Nerve

During nervous system development, neurons form synaptic contacts with distant target cells. These connections are formed by the extension of axonal processes along predetermined pathways. Axon outgrowth is directed by growth cones located at the tips of these neuronal processes. Although the behavior of growth cones has been well-characterized in vitro, it is difficult to observe growth cones in vivo. We have observed motor neuron growth cones migrating in living Caenorhabditis elegans larvae using time-lapse confocal microscopy. Specifically, we observed the VD motor neurons extend axons from the ventral to dorsal nerve cord during the L2 stage. The growth cones of these neurons are round and migrate rapidly across the epidermis if they are unobstructed. When they contact axons of the lateral nerve fascicles, growth cones stall and spread out along the fascicle to form anvil-shaped structures. After pausing for a few minutes, they extend lamellipodia beyond the fascicle and resume migration toward the dorsal nerve cord. Growth cones stall again when they contact the body wall muscles. These muscles are tightly attached to the epidermis by narrowly spaced circumferential attachment structures. Stalled growth cones extend fingers dorsally between these hypodermal attachment structures. When a single finger has projected through the body wall muscle quadrant, the growth cone located on the ventral side of the muscle collapses and a new growth cone forms at the dorsal tip of the predominating finger. Thus, we observe that complete growth cone collapse occurs in vivo and not just in culture assays. In contrast to studies indicating that collapse occurs upon contact with repulsive substrata, collapse of the VD growth cones may result from an intrinsic signal that serves to maintain growth cone primacy and conserve cellular material.

The Ordovician fossil Lagynocystis pyramidalis (Barrande) and the ancestry of amphioxus

1973 ◽  
Vol 265 (871) ◽  
pp. 409-469 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Nerve Cord ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Buccal Cavity ◽  
Cranial Nerves ◽  
Lower Ordovician ◽  
Upward Growth ◽  
Dorsal Nerve ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right

Lagynocystis pyramidalis (Barrande) from the marine Lower Ordovician of Bohemia (Šárka Formation (Llanvirn)), has features which suggest that it is ancestral, or nearly so, to living cephalochordates such as amphioxus ( Branchiostoma ). L. pyramidalis belongs to a strange group of fossils classified by some workers as ‘carpoid’ echinoderms (phylum Echinodermata, subphylum Homalozoa, class Stylophora). They are better seen, however, as primitive chordates with echinoderm affinities (phylum Chordata, subphylum Calcichordata Jefferies, 1967, class Stylophora). The most striking echinoderm-like feature of the calcichordates is their calcite skeleton with each plate a single crystal of calcite. Their chordate characters include: (1) branchial slits; (2) a postanal tail (stem) with muscle blocks, notochord, dorsal nerve cord and segmental ganglia; (3) a brain and cranial nervous system like those of a fish; and (4) various asymmetries like those of recent primitive chordates. The calcichordates are divided into a more primitive order, Cornuta, and a more advanced order Mitrata, which evolved from Cornuta. L. pyramidalis is a specialized member of the order Mitrata. Forms up till now associated with it in the suborder Lagynocystida of the Mitrata are better separated from it to form a new suborder Peltocystida (Kirkocystidae plus Peltocystidae). The features which ally L. pyramidalis to amphioxus are as follows: (1) a median ventral atrium opening by a median ventral atriopore; (2) a probably excretory posterior coelom which could give rise to the nephridia of amphioxus by upward growth of the gill slits; (3) evidence that the anus opened externally on the left; (4) evidence that the mouth and buccal cavity was innervated more strongly from the left than from the right; (5) evidence suggesting that, if it swam, L. pyramidalis would rotate about its long axis, clockwise as seen from behind, like late larval amphioxus and larval tunicates. The amphioxus-like features of L. pyramidalis are imposed on the pattern of a very primitive mitrate. There existed thus: (1) a well-developed brain and the cranial nerves were more of the vertebrate pattern than those of amphioxus; (2) left and right branchial openings in addition to the median atriopore; and (3) the tail or stem had paired segmental ganglia. The latest common ancestor of vertebrates and amphioxus would be a primitive mitrate. It follows, since Lagynocystis had a calcite skeleton, that such a skeleton has been lost at least twice in the evolution of the chordates.

Early development in mice: II. Sensory motor behavior and genetic analysis

1985 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Roubertoux ◽  
Catherine Semal ◽  
Sylvie Ragueneau
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Sensory Motor

scholarly journals Finding the ‘lost years’ in green turtles: insights from ocean circulation models and genetic analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1768) ◽  
pp. 20131468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan F. Putman ◽  
Eugenia Naro-Maciel
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Green Turtles ◽  
New Information ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Critical Developmental Period

Organismal movement is an essential component of ecological processes and connectivity among ecosystems. However, estimating connectivity and identifying corridors of movement are challenging in oceanic organisms such as young turtles that disperse into the open sea and remain largely unobserved during a period known as ‘the lost years’. Using predictions of transport within an ocean circulation model and data from published genetic analysis, we present to our knowledge, the first basin-scale hypothesis of distribution and connectivity among major rookeries and foraging grounds (FGs) of green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) during their ‘lost years’. Simulations indicate that transatlantic dispersal is likely to be common and that recurrent connectivity between the southwestern Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic is possible. The predicted distribution of pelagic juvenile turtles suggests that many ‘lost years hotspots’ are presently unstudied and located outside protected areas. These models, therefore, provide new information on possible dispersal pathways that link nesting beaches with FGs. These pathways may be of exceptional conservation concern owing to their importance for sea turtles during a critical developmental period.

scholarly journals Genetic analysis of the adenosine3 (Gart) region of the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetics ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 889-897
Author(s):  
S Y Tiong ◽  
D Nash
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Gene Product ◽  
Genetic Interaction ◽  
Chromosome Region ◽  
The Other ◽  
Purine Biosynthesis ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Complementation Groups ◽  
Functional Complexity

Abstract The Gart gene of Drosophila melanogaster is known, from molecular biological evidence, to encode a polypeptide that serves three enzymatic functions in purine biosynthesis. It is located in polytene chromosome region 27D. One mutation in the gene (ade3(1)) has been described previously. We report here forty new ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutations selected aga!nst a synthetic deficiency of the region from 27C2-9 to ++28B3-4. The mutations were characterized cytogenetically and by complementation analysis. The analysis apparently identifies 12 simple complementation groups. In addition, two segments of the chromosome exhibit complex complementation behavior. The first, the 28A region, gave three recessive lethals and also contains three known visible mutants, spade (spd), Sternopleural (Sp) and wingless (wg); a complex pattern of genetic interaction in the region incorporates both the new and the previously known mutants. The second region is at 27D, where seven extreme semilethal mutations give a complex complementation pattern that also incorporates ade3(1). Since ade3(1) is defective in one of the enzymatic functions encoded in the Gart gene, we assume the other seven also affect the gene. The complexity of the complementation pattern presumably reflects the functional complexity of the gene product. The phenotypic effects of the mutants at 27D are very similar to those described for ade2 mutations, which also interrupt purine biosynthesis.

Multiple functions of a Zic-like gene in the differentiation of notochord, central nervous system and muscle inCiona savignyiembryos

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 2723-2732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaoru S. Imai ◽  
Yutaka Satou ◽  
Nori Satoh
Keyword(s):  
Target Gene ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Cdna Clones ◽  
Embryonic Cells ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Multiple Functions ◽  
Ciona Savignyi ◽  
Notochord Cells

Multiple functions of a Zic-like zinc finger transcription factor gene (Cs-ZicL) were identified in Ciona savignyi embryos. cDNA clones for Cs-ZicL, a β-catenin downstream genes, were isolated and the gene was transiently expressed in the A-line notochord/nerve cord lineage and in B-line muscle lineage from the 32-cell stage and later in a-line CNS lineage from the 110-cell stage. Suppression of Cs-ZicL function with specific morpholino oligonucleotide indicated that Cs-ZicL is essential for the formation of A-line notochord cells but not of B-line notochord cells, essential for the CNS formation and essential for the maintenance of muscle differentiation. The expression of Cs-ZicL in the A-line cells is downstream of β-catenin and a β-catenin-target gene, Cs-FoxD, which is expressed in the endoderm cells from the 16-cell stage and is essential for the differentiation of notochord. In spite of its pivotal role in muscle specification, the expression of Cs-ZicL in the muscle precursors is independent of Cs-macho1, which is another Zic-like gene encoding a Ciona maternal muscle determinant, suggesting another genetic cascade for muscle specification independent of Cs-macho1. Cs-ZicL may provide a future experimental system to explore how the gene expression in multiple embryonic regions is controlled and how the single gene can perform different functions in multiple types of embryonic cells.

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