Model vertebrates articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Early stages of embryogenesis are known to depend on subcellular localization and transport of maternal mRNA, but systematic analyses have been hindered by a lack of methods for tracking of RNA. Here the authors combine spatially-resolved transcriptomics and single-cell RNA labeling to perform a spatio-temporal analysis of the transcriptome during early zebrafish development, revealing insights into this process.

    • Karoline Holler
    • , Anika Neuschulz
    •  & Jan Philipp Junker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Raman spectroscopic imaging (RSI) can provide information on the chemical composition of a sample, but application to living organisms has lacked sufficient spatial resolution and signal strength. Here the authors apply confocal RSI to whole-mount zebrafish embryos to distinguish different infectious bacteria and to living zebrafish embryos to monitor the wound healing process.

    • Håkon Høgset
    • , Conor C. Horgan
    •  & Molly M. Stevens

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial and fungal pathogens that cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) can cause severe disease. Here, Benmimoun et al. develop a model to study BBB crossing in the developing Drosophila brain and discover Group B Streptococcus factors important for BBB crossing and virulence, one of which, a lipoprotein, they confirm in mice.

    • Billel Benmimoun
    • , Florentia Papastefanaki
    •  & Pauline Spéder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle plays a key role in regulating systemic glucose and metabolic homeostasis. Here, the authors show that the catalytic activity of Vav2, an activator of Rho GTPases, modulates those processes by favoring the responsiveness of this tissue to insulin and related factors.

    • Sonia Rodríguez-Fdez
    • , L. Francisco Lorenzo-Martín
    •  & Xosé R. Bustelo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pseudogenes are key markers of genome remodelling processes. Here the authors present genome-wide annotation of the pseudogenes in the mouse reference genome and 18 inbred mouse strains, update human pseudogene annotations, and characterise the transcription and evolution of mouse pseudogenes.

    • Cristina Sisu
    • , Paul Muir
    •  & Mark Gerstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The roots of psychopathology take shape during adverse parent-infant interactions, shown through infant attachment quality. Using rodents, the authors show that blunted infant cortical processing of the mother determines attachment quality through a stress hormone-dependent mechanism.

    • Maya Opendak
    • , Emma Theisen
    •  & Regina M. Sullivan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multi-view SPIM imaging can improve coverage of large samples such as whole embryos, but the procedure increases phototoxicity and involves manual steps that can introduce inconsistencies. Here the authors develop a smart rotation workflow that performs on-the-fly image analysis and identifies optimal set of views to maximize sample coverage.

    • Jiaye He
    •  & Jan Huisken

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High frequency semen exposure has been associated with activation of anti-HIV mechanisms in HIV negative sex workers. Here, Abdulhaqq et al. show that repeated vaginal exposure to semen reduces vaginal infection by SIV in non-human primates, and is associated with lower CCR5 expression in CD4 T-cells and a local type-I interferon response.

    • Shaheed A. Abdulhaqq
    • , Melween Martinez
    •  & Luis J. Montaner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In humans, copy-number variants of the CYFIP1 gene have been associated with autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. Here, the authors characterize Cyfip1-heterozygous mice, revealing that they display deficits in brain white matter structure and functional connectivity along with abnormal behaviours.

    • Nuria Domínguez-Iturza
    • , Adrian C. Lo
    •  & Claudia Bagni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    People with a genetic deletion of the 15q11.2 locus are at increased risk for psychiatric disorders and white matter disturbances, but the gene(s) responsible are unclear. Here, the authors show that low dosage of CYFIP1, present in the human 15q11.2 region, alters white matter structure and cognition in rats.

    • Ana I. Silva
    • , Josephine E. Haddon
    •  & Lawrence S. Wilkinson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lgr5+ stem cells in intestinal crypts are critical for gut epithelium homeostasis. Here, the authors show that Znht1 critically regulates intestinal homeostasis by promoting interaction between histone variant H2A.Z and its chaperone YL1 to incorporate H2A.Z into genes involved in intestinal stem cell fate.

    • Bing Zhao
    • , Ying Chen
    •  & Xinhua Lin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Damaged epithelial tissues are known to compensate for cell death through compensatory cell divisions to maintain epithelial integrity. Here, the authors show in living epithelia that dying cells stimulate adjacent stem cells to divide through caspase-dependent production of Wnt8a-containing apoptotic bodies.

    • Courtney K. Brock
    • , Stephen T. Wallin
    •  & George T. Eisenhoffer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Calcium signalling downstream of VEGF is essential for VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Here Savage et al. show that Transmembrane Protein 33 (TMEM33) is required for angiogenesis and the endothelial calcium response to VEGF, revealing a function for TMEM33 in multicellular organisms.

    • Aaron M. Savage
    • , Sathishkumar Kurusamy
    •  & Robert N. Wilkinson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human embryonic stem cells can be differentiated in vitro into primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) that resemble early primordial germ cells (PGCs). Here the authors transplant PGCLCs generated from rhesus macaque iPSCs into mouse and rhesus macaque seminiferous tubules, which matures these into late PGCs and spermatogonia-like cells.

    • Enrique Sosa
    • , Di Chen
    •  & Amander T. Clark

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During early embryogenesis, critical cardiac specification events occur. Here the authors isolate cardiac progenitor cells from early zebrafish embryos and characterize accessible chromatin regions specific to this cell population, finding that many of these regions overlap with conserved non-coding elements that are ortholgous to accessible chromatin regions in human.

    • Xuefei Yuan
    • , Mengyi Song
    •  & Michael D. Wilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Wnt signaling is known to regulate the formation of the blood-brain barrier. Here Hübner et al. dissect the underlying mechanisms using high resolution live imaging in zebrafish, and find that Wnt regulates anastomosis of angiogenic sprouts in the brain by counteracting sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor signaling.

    • Kathleen Hübner
    • , Pauline Cabochette
    •  & Wiebke Herzog

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iridophores interact with other cells to give zebrafish their stripes, but what drives their form shifts is unknown. Here, modelling allows the authors to identify robust cues that may specify iridophore form and to find changes to these cues that likely account for altered patterns on related fish.

    • Alexandria Volkening
    •  & Björn Sandstede

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) hydrolyzes triglycerides to supply free fatty acids (FFAs) to muscle for energy and adipocytes for storage. Here, the authors demonstrate that Lpl and its product, the FFA docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are required for haematopoietic stem progenitor cell expansion during zebrafish embryogenesis.

    • Chao Liu
    • , Tianxu Han
    •  & Yury I. Miller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Advances in animal magnetoreception have been limited by a lack of tractable vertebrate laboratory models. Here, the authors demonstrate light-independent magnetoreception in mature zebrafish and medaka, as well as magnetosensitive locomotion in juvenile medaka associated with neuronal activation in the lateral hindbrain.

    • Ahne Myklatun
    • , Antonella Lauri
    •  & Gil G. Westmeyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is not clear if it is the embryonic origin or anatomical location of cardiomyocytes that restrict their contribution to zebrafish heart regeneration. Here, the authors show a plasticity of embryonic precursors following tbx5a fate mapping and that trabecular cardiomyocytes help to rebuild the cortical myocardium.

    • Héctor Sánchez-Iranzo
    • , María Galardi-Castilla
    •  & Nadia Mercader

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemical screens can identify small molecules that affect biological development, with potential therapeutic value. Here, the authors use a modular approach in a screen in zebrafish embryos, varying concentration, genotype and timing to target segmentation disorders, birth defects that affect the spinal column.

    • Sandra Richter
    • , Ulrike Schulze
    •  & Andrew C. Oates

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Βeta-cells have recently been shown to be heterogeneous with regard to morphology and function. Here, the authors show that β-cells in zebrafish switch from proliferative to functional states with increasing time since β-cell birth, leading to functional and proliferative heterogeneity.

    • Sumeet Pal Singh
    • , Sharan Janjuha
    •  & Nikolay Ninov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Systemic dissection of sexually dimorphic phenotypes in mice is lacking. Here, Karp and the International Mouse Phenotype Consortium show that approximately 10% of qualitative traits and 56% of quantitative traits in mice as measured in laboratory setting are sexually dimorphic.

    • Natasha A. Karp
    • , Jeremy Mason
    •  & Jacqueline K. White

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Caloric restriction (CR) delays ageing of model organisms, but whether it works in nonhuman primates has been controversial. Here, the authors pool and reanalyse data from two long-running CR primate studies, concluding that moderate CR indeed improves health and survival of rhesus monkeys.

    • Julie A. Mattison
    • , Ricki J. Colman
    •  & Rozalyn M. Anderson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Acute kidney injury can progress to chronic kidney disease. Here Dehnadiet al. develop a post-ischaemic chronic kidney disease model in cynomolgus monkeys and show that prophylactic inhibition of CD11b/CD18 leukocyte receptor via a monoclonal antibody inhibits progression of kidney disease and fibrosis.

    • Abbas Dehnadi
    • , A. Benedict Cosimi
    •  & M. Amin Arnaout

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Random mutagenesis can uncover novel genes involved in phenotypic traits. Here the authors perform a large-scale phenotypic screen on over 100 mouse strains generated by ENU mutagenesis to identify mice with age-related diseases, which they attribute to specific mutations revealed by whole-genome sequencing.

    • Paul K. Potter
    • , Michael R. Bowl
    •  & Steve D. M. Brown

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How p53 is restrained in arterial maturation during embryonic development is unclear. Here, the authors show that β-catenin C-terminal interactions inhibit CREB binding protein-mediated acetylation and activation of p53 in smooth muscle cells, and that this function is essential for artery formation.

    • Dario F. Riascos-Bernal
    • , Prameladevi Chinnasamy
    •  & Nicholas E. S. Sibinga

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The melanocortin receptor, MC3R, regulates organismal energy homeostasis. Here, Lee et al. create knock-in mice with the a mutated version of the human MC3R receptor found in obese children, and show these mice have more fat and smaller bone, yet are by and large metabolically healthy.

    • Bonggi Lee
    • , Jashin Koo
    •  & Jack A. Yanovski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The amygdala in the medial temporal lobe of the human and non-human primate brain is known to process salient social stimuli and to mediate threat discrimination. Here, Dal Monte et al.show that rhesus monkeys with amygdala lesions have deficits in detecting threat signals and directing attention to the eye region of a conspecific's face.

    • Olga Dal Monte
    • , Vincent D. Costa
    •  & Bruno B. Averbeck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Corollary discharges inform the central nervous system about impending motor activity. Here, Chagnaud et al. show that, in Xenopustadpoles, shared efferent neural pathways to the inner ear and lateral line adjust the sensitivity of sensory afferents during locomotor activity.

    • Boris P. Chagnaud
    • , Roberto Banchi
    •  & Hans Straka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multicolour information is required to study the complex interplay of biological tissues. Here, Jahr et al.acquire spectral information at high resolution for each pixel in a hyperspectral light sheet microscope, while maintaining its perpendicular illumination and low phototoxicity.

    • Wiebke Jahr
    • , Benjamin Schmid
    •  & Jan Huisken

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The heart forms from combining the first with the second heart field, which in mammals creates left and right ventricle. Here transgenic zebrafish and physiology studies reveal that transcription factors controlling septation in mammals already in teleosts guide muscle coupling by controlling the relative contribution of the two fields to the heart.

    • Christian Mosimann
    • , Daniela Panáková
    •  & Leonard I. Zon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are large macromolecular assemblies that mediate the exchange of molecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm. Here the authors present a ∼20 Å cryo-EM structure of the X. laevisNPC in different states of transport to propose a model for the architecture of the NPC’s molecular gate within its central channel.

    • Matthias Eibauer
    • , Mauro Pellanda
    •  & Ohad Medalia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Zebrafish is a model system for which for no reliable heritable gene silencing method is available. Here the authors provide a system for heritable miRNA-mediated knockdown and demonstrate tunable silencing of the smn1gene that recapitulate different forms of spinal muscular atrophy.

    • Jean Giacomotto
    • , Silke Rinkwitz
    •  & Thomas S. Becker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pigment pattern formation in zebrafish depends on the interactions between the pigment cells. Here the authors present a mathematical model based on mutual interaction of pigment cells in the absence of cell motion, revising the current model of the pattern formation that relies on reaction–diffusion Turing patterns.

    • D. Bullara
    •  & Y. De Decker

  • Article |

    Genetically engineered mice are an important aspect of human disease research. Here, the authors use artificial transcription activator-like effector-nucleases to generate a mouse line with a conditionally targeted allele and suggest that this method can be easily adapted to any gene in the mouse genome.

    • Daniel Sommer
    • , Annika E. Peters
    •  & Marc Beyer

  • Article |

    Kidney diseases often cause anaemia due to damage of renal erythropoietin-producing cells. Yamazaki et al. identify a new population of erythropoietin-producing cells in the renal cortex and outer medulla by establishing a mouse model for adult-onset erythropoietin-deficient anaemia.

    • Shun Yamazaki
    • , Tomokazu Souma
    •  & Masayuki Yamamoto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mouse models of arthritis generally do not result in both chronic disease and autoantibody production—two key features of the human disease. Here the authors obtain both features by combining two common protocols, and find that disease severity is associated with the presence of a previously unidentified lymph node.

    • Uta Baddack
    • , Sven Hartmann
    •  & Gerd Müller

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Model vertebrates across other nature.com journals