title: Mutations affecting development of the notochord in zebrafish.
abstract: The notochord is critical for the normal development of vertebrate embryos. It serves both as the major skeletal element of the embryo and as a signaling source for the establishment of pattern within the neurectoderm, the paraxial mesoderm and other tissues. In a large-scale systematic screen of mutations affecting embryogenesis in zebrafish we identified 65 mutations that fall into 29 complementation groups, each leading to a defect in the formation and/or maintenance of the notochord. These mutations produce phenotypic abnormalities at numerous stages of notochord development, thereby establishing a phenotypic pathway, which in turn suggests a genetic pathway for the development of the notochord. Perturbations within adjacent tissues in mutant embryos further indicate the importance of notochord-derived signals for patterning within the embryo and suggest that these mutations will yield additional insight into the cues that regulate these patterning processes.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown 02129, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stemple
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Solnica-Krezel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zwartkruis
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Neuhauss
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Schier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malicki
authors.forename: D Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Stainier
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdelilah
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rangini
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mountcastle-Shah
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Driever
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology; D009154:Mutation; D009672:Notochord / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D010641:Phenotype; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*