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Development 129, 3505-3512 (2002)
© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited

DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE

Removal of dystroglycan causes severe muscular dystrophy in zebrafish embryos

Michael J. Parsons, Isabel Campos, Elizabeth M. A. Hirst and Derek L. Stemple*

Division of Developmental Biology, National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK

*Author for correspondence (e-mail: dstempl{at}nimr.mrc.ac.uk)

Accepted 29 April 2002

Muscular dystrophy is frequently caused by disruption of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which links muscle cells to the extracellular matrix. Dystroglycan, a central component of the DGC, serves as a laminin receptor via its extracellular {alpha} subunit, and interacts with dystrophin (and thus the actin cytoskeleton) through its integral membrane ß subunit. We have removed the function of dystroglycan in zebrafish embryos. In contrast to mouse, where dystroglycan mutations lead to peri-implantation lethality, dystroglycan is dispensable for basement membrane formation during early zebrafish development. At later stages, however, loss of dystroglycan leads to a disruption of the DGC, concurrent with loss of muscle integrity and necrosis. In addition, we find that loss of the DGC leads to loss of sarcomere and sarcoplasmic reticulum organisation. The DGC is required for long-term survival of muscle cells in zebrafish, but is dispensable for muscle formation. Dystroglycan or the DGC is also required for normal sarcomere and sarcoplasmic reticulum organisation. Because zebrafish embryos lacking dystroglycan share several characteristics with human muscular dystrophy, they should serve as a useful model for the disease. In addition, knowing the dystroglycan null phenotype in zebrafish will facilitate the isolation of other molecules involved in muscular dystrophy pathogenesis.

Key words: Dystroglycan, Muscular dystrophy, Dystrophin, Zebrafish, Danio rerio, Sarcomere, Sarcoplasmic reticulum


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2002