UCSF research reveals how the embryo brings its hear...( f chemical reactions triggered by enzym...)

"Proteins can be identified from newly sequenced genes, and they can be localized using antibodies. But lipids are the products of enzymatic pathways. No gene codes for them, and they are much harder to study."

Stainier has been studying zebrafish heart development for ten years. The fish undergo most of the early life-defining changes found in human embyros, yet their embryos are transparent and readily accessible. Because it is also amenable to genetic study, the zebrafish has become an important model organism for studying vertebrate development.

The blue-and-silver-striped fish, a native of the Ganges River, is less than an inch long when mature. At the critical time when S1P and its miles apart receptor join forces to urge the animal's heart to come together, the transparent embryo is no larger than the head of a pin. Still, the researchers can scrutinize the tiny embryos, focusing on the maladies created by different mutations.

"This study underscores the value of studying from mutations to genes, rather than the other way around, to understand the genetics of vertebrate development," Stainier says. "The vertebrate genome is full of nuggets, and this approach of random mutagenesis in zebrafish is the best way to get at those nuggets." Random mutagenesis is the practice of producing mutations throughout the genome and then studying the genes that underlie mutations of particular interest.

The July 13 issue of Nature containing the report on heart formation includes a perspective on the research by Wolfgang Driever, a prominent developmental biologist in Germany.

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Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravven@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
11-Jul-2000