QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online 3 May 2006
doi: 10.1242/dev.02355

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: dev.02355v1 133/11/2137    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hutchinson, S. A. Articles by Eisen, J. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hutchinson, S. A. Articles by Eisen, J. S.

Islet1 and Islet2 have equivalent abilities to promote motoneuron formation and to specify motoneuron subtype identity

Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: eisen{at}uoneuro.uoregon.edu)

Accepted 9 March 2006

The expression of LIM homeobox genes islet1 and islet2 is tightly regulated during development of zebrafish primary motoneurons. All primary motoneurons express islet1 around the time they exit the cell cycle. By the time primary motoneurons undergo axogenesis, specific subtypes express islet1, whereas other subtypes express islet2, suggesting that these two genes have different functions. Here, we show that Islet1 is required for formation of zebrafish primary motoneurons; in the absence of Islet1, primary motoneurons are missing and there is an apparent increase in some types of ventral interneurons. We also provide evidence that Islet2 can substitute for Islet1 during primary motoneuron formation. Surprisingly, our results demonstrate that despite the motoneuron subtype-specific expression patterns of Islet1 and Islet2, the differences between the Islet1 and Islet2 proteins are not important for specification of the different primary motoneuron subtypes. Thus, primary motoneuron subtypes are likely to be specified by factors that act in parallel to or upstream of islet1 and islet2.

Key words: Primary motoneuron, Secondary motoneuron, LIM homeodomain, Interneuron, Spinal motoneuron, pMN domain, Zebrafish

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. S. Eisen and J. C. Smith Controlling morpholino experiments: don't stop making antisense Development, May 15, 2008; 135(10): 1735 - 1743. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Hutchinson, S. E. Cheesman, L. A. Hale, J. Q. Boone, and J. S. Eisen Nkx6 proteins specify one zebrafish primary motoneuron subtype by regulating late islet1 expression Development, May 1, 2007; 134(9): 1671 - 1677. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]