"Fin development in zebrafish: function, regulation and evolution of the actinodin gene family."

“斑马鱼的鳍发育：放线菌素基因家族的功能、调控和进化。”

• 批准号: 155817-2012
• 负责人: Akimenko, MarieAndrée
• 金额: $ 3.5万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=569495
• 关键词: Fin; development; zebrafish; function; regulation

My laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying limb and fin development using the zebrafish, a small tropical fish as a vertebrate model. The limbs of tetrapod species (mammals, birds, amphibians...) evolved from the paired fins of ancestral fish. How it happened is still largely unknown. The development of fish fins and of tetrapod limbs shows some similarities but the formation of rigid fibrils named actinotrichia, specifically in fish fins, is one of the first differences between fins and limbs. We recently identified a new family of genes that we named actinodin and that code for components of the actinotrichia. Interestingly, these genes are only found in fish and have been lost in the genomes of tetrapod species during evolution. When we abolish the function of actinodins in the laboratory, the consequences on fin formation suggest to us that the loss of these genes during evolution contributed to the transformation of fins into limbs. We will now investigate the role of the actinodins by studying how they interact with collagen, another chemical component of fin fibrils. We will also identify the genetic mechanisms responsible for actinodin production specifically in fins. Finally, I propose to investigate whether part of the actinodin protein can be processed into a small fragment with biological activity. Characterization of the actinodin gene family gives us the opportunity to better understand fin development and provide us with a better insight into fin and limb evolution.

我的实验室有兴趣使用斑马鱼（一种小型热带鱼）作为脊椎动物模型来了解肢体和鳍发育的分子机制。四足动物的四肢（哺乳动物、鸟类、两栖动物.）从祖先鱼的成对鳍进化而来。它是如何发生的仍然在很大程度上是未知的。鱼鳍和四足动物四肢的发育显示出一些相似之处，但称为放线菌的刚性原纤维的形成，特别是在鱼鳍中，是鱼鳍和四肢之间的第一个差异。我们最近发现了一个新的基因家族，我们将其命名为actinodin，它编码放线菌的成分。有趣的是，这些基因只在鱼类中发现，在进化过程中已经在四足动物的基因组中丢失。当我们在实验室中废除放线菌素的功能时，鳍形成的后果向我们表明，在进化过程中这些基因的丢失有助于鳍向四肢的转变。我们现在将通过研究它们如何与胶原蛋白（鳍原纤维的另一种化学成分）相互作用来研究放线素的作用。我们还将确定遗传机制负责放线菌素生产，特别是在鳍。最后，我建议研究是否可以将部分放线菌素蛋白加工成具有生物活性的小片段。放线菌素基因家族的表征使我们有机会更好地了解鳍的发展，并为我们提供了一个更好的洞察鳍和肢体的进化。