title: pnp4aIs the Causal Gene of the Medaka Iridophore Mutantguanineless.
abstract: See-through medaka lines are suitable for observing internal organs throughout life. They were bred by crossing multiple color mutants. However, some of the causal genes for these mutants have not been identified. The medaka has four pigment cell types: black melanophores, yellow xanthophores, white leucophores, and silvery iridophores. The causal genes of melanophore, xanthophore, and leucophore mutants have been elucidated, but the causal gene for the iridophore mutant remains unknown. Here, we describe the iridophore mutant,guanineless(gu), which exhibits a strong reduction in visible iridophores throughout its larval to adult stages. Thegulocus was previously mapped to chromosome 5, but was located near the telomeric region, making it difficult to integrate into the chromosome. We sought the causal gene ofguusing synteny analysis with the zebrafish genome and found a strong candidate,purine nucleoside phosphorylase 4a(pnp4a). Gene targeting and complementation testing showed thatpnp4ais the causal gene ofguThis result will allow the establishment of inbred medaka strains or other useful strains with see-through phenotypes without major disruption in the genetic background of each strain.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Genetics, Department of Integrated Genetics, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8504, Japan tekimura@nig.ac.jp.|Laboratory of Bioresources, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioresources, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.|Department of Basic Biology, School of Life Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takehana
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioresources, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.|Department of Basic Biology, School of Life Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Naruse
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D064113:CRISPR-Cas Systems / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018390:Gene Targeting; D056426:Genetic Loci; D006579:Heterozygote; D008547:Melanophores / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D009990:Oryzias / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation; D026801:Synteny / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins
keywords: guanineless; iridophore; medaka; pigment mutant; pnp4a