Cloning of zebrafish T-box genes tbx15 and tbx18 and their expression during embryonic development

Abstract

Members of the T-box (tbx) gene family encode developmentally regulated transcription factors, several of which are implicated in human hereditary diseases. We have cloned the paralogous genes tbx15 and tbx18 in zebrafish and have characterised their expression in detail. tbx15 is expressed in paraxial head mesenchyme and its derivatives, the extraocular and jaw musculature and the posterior neurocranium. Further areas of tbx15 expression are in the anterior somitic mesoderm, in periocular mesenchyme and in the pectoral fin mesenchyme throughout larval development. Areas of strong tbx18 expression are found in the developing somitic and presomitic mesoderm, in the heart and in pectoral fin mesenchyme, as well as the ventral neuroectoderm and the developing palate. Both genes exhibit particular differences in expression compared to their murine orthologs.

Genetics of shoulder girdle formation: roles of Tbx15 and aristaless-like genes

“…Here, we have studied aspects of the skeletal phenotype of this mutant. Figure 1 shows characteristic features of Tbx15 expression that may be relevant to the skeletal abnormalities seen in de mutants (Agulnik et al, 1998;Candille et al, 2004;Singh et al, 2005); expression of a zebrafish orthologue was also reported (Begemann et al, 2002). Expression was detected in mesenchyme of the limb buds from embryonic day (E) 9.5 (not shown) and, at E10.5, was seen to be highest in a medial-proximal domain (Fig.…”

The genetics and embryology of zebrafish metamerism

“…tbx6 may function semiredundantly with both spadetail and no tail (Griffin et al, 1998;Goering et al, 2003). Later still, fused somites/tbx24 interacts with the clock and is required for somite maturation while tbx15 and tbx18 are expressed in the somites after segmentation Begemann et al, 2002;Nikaido et al, 2002). Thus, nodal, fgf, wnt, and t-box genes act in succession, with some reiteration, to link early patterning and maintenance of the mesoderm to the subsequent segmentation program (reviewed in (Holley, 2006a).…”

“…The tail bud is divided into the anterior presomitic mesoderm (PSM; a psm), posterior PSM (p psm), initiation zone (iz), and progenitor zone (pz). References: a (Begemann et al, 2002), b (Durbin et al, 1998), c (Barrios et al, 2003), d (Yamamoto et al, 1998), e (Sawada et al, 2000), f (Weinberg et al, 1996), g (Kawakami et al, 2005b), h (Hammerschmidt and Nü sslein-Volhard, 1993), i (Thisse et al, 1993), j (Nisha Tamhankar and Scott Holley, unpublished observations), k (Kudoh et al, 2001), and l (Clements and Kimelman, 2005).…”

“…Three genes are known to be exclusively expressed in the anterior somites, tbx15, a nanos-related gene, and soxlla (de Martino et al, 2000;Begemann et al, 2002;Jü lich et al, 2005a). Notably, there is no known function for any of these genes in somitogenesis, and none of the genes that show anterior-or posterior-specific somite defects are differentially expressed along the body axis.…”

Early expression of the <i>tbx</i>22 gene in zebrafish influences positioning of pharyngeal arch cartilages

“…Characterization of several tbx genes suggests a role for these genes in craniofacial development [12][13][14]. tbx22 is a member of the tbx1 subfamily, which consists of tbx1, 10, 15, 18, 20, 22 [9].…”