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On the robustness of germ cell migration and microRNA-mediated regulation of chemokine signaling

Nature Genetics volume 45, pages 1264–1265 (2013)Cite this article

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Zebrafish primordial germ cells (PGCs) migrate toward the site where the gonad develops from four starting points that are randomly positioned with respect to the embryonic axis. This migration is guided by Sdf1a signals provided by the somatic environment that are perceived by the Cxcr4b receptors expressed on germ cells. The high fidelity of migration is reflected by the fact that, despite concurrent extensive morphogenetic movements, virtually all migrating cells reach their target by the end of the first day of development. Furthermore, similar to many other processes in embryogenesis, the arrival of germ cells at their target appears to withstand environmental perturbations (for example, a range of temperatures) and to be unaffected by genetic variation (for example, differences in genetic background and severe developmental mutations) and, hence, can be considered robust.

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Figure 1: Effect of miRNA control on PGC migration.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Reichman-Fried for critical reading of the manuscript and U. Jordan for technical help. We acknowledge funding from the European Research Council, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the University of Münster.

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  1. Anne-Karine Lagendijk

    Present address: Present address: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cell Biology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation, Münster, Germany

    Mehdi Goudarzi, Azadeh Paksa & Erez Raz

  2. Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Ina Strate, Anne-Karine Lagendijk & Jeroen Bakkers

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  1. Mehdi Goudarzi
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  2. Ina Strate
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  6. Erez Raz
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Correspondence to Erez Raz.

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Goudarzi, M., Strate, I., Paksa, A. et al. On the robustness of germ cell migration and microRNA-mediated regulation of chemokine signaling. Nat Genet 45, 1264–1265 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2793

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