Work

Alternative Splicing of sept9a and sept9b in Zebrafish Produces Multiple mRNA Transcripts Expressed Throughout Development

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Septins are involved in a number of cellular processes including cytokinesis and organization of the cytoskeleton. Alterations in human septin-9 (SEPT9) levels have been linked to multiple cancers, whereas mutations in SEPT9 cause the episodic neuropathy, hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy (HNA). Despite its important function in human health, the in vivo role of SEPT9 is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we utilize zebrafish to study the role of SEPT9 in early development. We show that zebrafish possess two genes, sept9a and sept9b that, like humans, express multiple transcripts. Knockdown or overexpression of sept9a transcripts results in specific developmental alterations including circulation defects and aberrant epidermal development. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our work demonstrates that sept9 plays an important role in zebrafish development, and establishes zebrafish as a valuable model organism for the study of SEPT9.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010712

Authors: Megan L. Landsverk, Douglas C. Weiser, Mark C. Hannibal, David Kimelman

Institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, University of Washington, University of the Pacific

Language: English

Topic: Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382