Isolation and characterization of a Japanese flounder clonal line, reversed, which exhibits reversal of metamorphic left-right asymmetry

Mech Dev. 2002 Feb;111(1-2):17-24. doi: 10.1016/s0925-4773(01)00596-2.

Abstract

We have isolated a clonal line reversed (rev) of homozygous Japanese flounder through gynogenesis. The homozygous offspring gynogenetically produced from rev exhibited reversal of organization of the metamorphic L/R asymmetry such as the direction of eye-migration at a high frequency (20-30%). The molecular analysis using a left-specific marker pitx2 revealed that the embryonic L/R axis was ambiguously established: in more than half of rev embryos, pitx2 was expressed bilaterally in the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM). Previous studies in other animals demonstrated that ectopic pitx2 expression in the LPM could cause laterality defects of the visceral organs. Likewise, our results using rev imply that bilateral pitx2 expression could lead to randomization of the visceral organs. Coincidence of ectopic pitx2 expression and reversal of the direction of eye-migration in the population of rev offspring suggests that the rev locus is critical in specification of both the metamorphic and the visceral L/R asymmetries. However, reversal of the sidedness of the orientation of the visceral organs was not always accompanied by reversal of the direction of metamorphic eye-migration, suggesting that different mechanisms should be involved downstream of the rev locus in directing these two phases of asymmetric morphogenesis in the Japanese flounder.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Body Patterning / genetics*
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA Fingerprinting
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Eye / growth & development
  • Eye Abnormalities / genetics
  • Female
  • Flounder / embryology
  • Flounder / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Homeodomain Proteins / genetics*
  • Homeodomain Proteins / metabolism
  • Homozygote
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Metamorphosis, Biological
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Viscera / anatomy & histology
  • Viscera / growth & development

Substances

  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Transcription Factors

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AB050722