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Induction of the zebrafish ventral brain and floorplate requires cyclops/nodal signalling

Nature volume 395, pages 185–189 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Zebrafish cyclops (cyc) mutations cause deficiencies in the dorsal mesendoderm1,2 and ventral neural tube3,4, leading to neural defects and cyclopia5,6. Here we report that cyc encodes a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-related intercellular signalling molecule that is similar to mouse nodal7. cyc is expressed in dorsal mesendoderm at gastrulation and in the prechordal plate until early somitogenesis. Expression reappears transiently in the left lateral-plate mesoderm, and in an unprecedented asymmetric pattern in the left forebrain. Injection of cyc RNA non-autonomously restores sonic hedgehog -expressing cells of the ventral brain and floorplate that are absent in cyc mutants, whereas inducing activities are abolished by cycm294, a mutation of a conserved cysteine in the mature ligand. Our results indicate that cyc provides an essential non-cell-autonomous signal at gastrulation, leading to induction of the floorplate and ventral brain.

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Figure 1: cyclops is a nodal -related gene.
Figure 2: cyc expression in wild-type and mutant zebrafish.
Figure 3: Cyc inducing activities.
Figure 4: cyc RNA rescues ventral neural tube of mutants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C.-M. Fan, B. Hogan, R. Warga and I. Dawid for discussion; W. Driever, E.Knapik, M.Fishman, C. B. Kimmel, S. Ekker, J. Campos-Ortega, D. Kimelman, D. Wilkinson, D. Turner and C.Nüsslein-Volhard for reagents or zebrafish; S. Fisher, A. Switalski, A. Chilcoat and L. Friedman for map panel DNA; and M. Macurak, A. Pinder, M. Sepanski, D. Lee, B. Cortez, A. Hennessey, M. Ray and K. L. Poon for technical assistance. K.S. and V.K. are supported by NSTB, Singapore; A.L.R., A.M.S.C. and J.O.L. by NIH Training Awards; L.S.K. by the NIH and March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; M.E.H. by NSF and the Pew Scholars Program; and C.V.E.W. by the NIH.

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  1. Karuna Sampath, Amy L. Rubinstein, Abby M. S. Cheng, Jennifer O. Liang, Kimberly Fekany and Lilianna Solnica-Krezel: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, 37232, Tennessee, USA

    Karuna Sampath, Abby M. S. Cheng & Christopher V. E. Wright

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 37232, Tennessee, USA

    Kimberly Fekany & Lilianna Solnica-Krezel

  3. Institute of Molecular Agrobiology, National University of Singapore, 1 Research Link, 117604, Singapore

    Karuna Sampath & Vladimir Korzh

  4. Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, 21210, Maryland, USA

    Amy L. Rubinstein, Jennifer O. Liang & Marnie E. Halpern

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Sampath, K., Rubinstein, A., Cheng, A. et al. Induction of the zebrafish ventral brain and floorplate requires cyclops/nodal signalling. Nature 395, 185–189 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/26020

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