title: A role for FGF-8 in the dorsoventral patterning of the zebrafish gastrula.
abstract: Signals released from Spemann's organizer, together with ventralizing factors such as BMPs, are necessary to pattern the dorsoventral axis of the vertebrate embryo. We report that a member of the FGF family, fgf-8, not secreted by the axial mesoderm but expressed in a dorsoventral gradient at the margin of the zebrafish gastrula, also contributes to the establishment of the dorsoventral axis of the embryo. Ectopic expression of FGF-8 leads to the expansion of dorsolateral derivatives at the expense of ventral and posterior domains. Moreover, FGF-8 displays some organizer properties as it induces the formation of a partial secondary axis in the absence of factors released from Spemann's organizer territory. Analysis of its interaction with the ventralizing factors, BMPs, reveals that overexpression of FGF-8 inhibits the expression of these factors in the ventral part of the embryo as early as blastula stage, suggesting that FGF-8 acts upstream of BMP2 and BMP4. We conclude that FGF-8 is involved in defining dorsoventral identity and is an important organizing factor responsible for specification of mesodermal and ectodermal dorsolateral territories of the zebrafish gastrula.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS, INSERM, ULP, Illkirch, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fürthauer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thisse
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thisse
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D004627:Embryonic Induction / Q000235:genetics; D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000502:physiology*; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000196:embryology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
chemical_list: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D006133:Growth Substances; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C525813:bmp4 protein, zebrafish; D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors