Maternally supplied Smad5 is required for ventral specification in zebrafish embryos prior to zygotic Bmp signaling

We have previously shown that the maternal effect dorsalization of zebrafish embryos from sbn(dtc24) heterozygous mothers is caused by a dominant negative mutation in Smad5, a transducer of ventralizing signaling by the bone morphogenetic proteins Bmp2b and Bmp7. Since sbn(dtc24) mutant Smad5 protein not only blocks wild-type Smad5, but also other family members like Smad1, it remained open to what extent Smad5 itself is required for dorsoventral patterning. Here, we report the identification of novelsmad5 alleles: three new isolates coming from a dominant enhancer screen, and four former isolates initially assigned to the cpt and pgy complementation groups. Overexpression analyses demonstrate that three of the new alleles, m169, fr5, and tc227, are true nulls (amorphs), whereas the initial dtc24 allele is both antimorphic and hypomorphic. We rescued m169 mutant embryos by smad5 mRNA injection. Although adult mutants are smaller than their siblings, the eggs laid by m169(-/-) females are larger than normal eggs. Embryos lacking maternal Smad5 function (Mm169(-/-) embryos) are even more strongly dorsalized thanbmp2b or bmp7 null mutants. They do not respond to injected bmp2b mRNA, indicating that Smad5 is absolutely essential for ventral development and Bmp2/7 signaling. Most importantly, Mm169(-/-) embryos display reducedbmp7 mRNA levels during blastula stages, when bmp2b and bmp7 mutants are still normal. This indicates that maternally supplied Smad5 is already required to mediate ventral specification prior to zygotic Bmp2/7 signaling to establish the initial dorsoventral asymmetry.     

Essential role of Bmp7 (snailhouse) and its prodomain in dorsoventral patterning of the zebrafish embryo

Bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps) are signaling molecules that have been implicated in a variety of inductive processes. We report here that zebrafish Bmp7 is disrupted in snailhouse (snh) mutants. The allele snh(st1) is a translocation deleting the bmp7 gene, while snh(ty68) displays a Val->Gly exhange in a conserved motif of the Bmp7 prodomain. The snh(ty68) mutation is temperature-sensitive, leading to severalfold reduced activity of mutant Bmp7 at 28 degrees C and non-detectable activity at 33 degrees C. This prodomain lesion affects secretion and/or stability of secreted mature Bmp7 after processing has occurred. Both snh(st1) and snh(ty68) mutant zebrafish embryos are strongly dorsalized, indicating that bmp7 is required for the specification of ventral cell fates during early dorsoventral patterning. At higher temperature, the phenotype of snh(ty68) mutant embryos is identical to that caused by the amorphic bmp2b mutation swirl swr(ta72) and similar to that caused by the smad5 mutation somitabun sbn(dtc24). mRNA injection studies and double mutant analyses indicate that Bmp2b and Bmp7 closely cooperate and that Bmp2b/Bmp7 signaling is transduced by Smad5 and antagonized by Chordino.     

Dorsal and intermediate neuronal cell types of the spinal cord are established by a BMP signaling pathway

We have studied the role of Bmp signaling in patterning neural tissue through the use of mutants in the zebrafish that disrupt three different components of a Bmp signaling pathway: swirl/bmp2b, snailhouse/bmp7 and somitabun/smad5. We demonstrate that Bmp signaling is essential for the establishment of the prospective neural crest and dorsal sensory Rohon-Beard neurons of the spinal cord. Moreover, Bmp signaling is necessary to limit the number of intermediate-positioned lim1+ interneurons of the spinal cord, as observed by the dramatic expansion of these prospective interneurons in many mutant embryos. Our analysis also suggests a positive role for Bmp signaling in the specification of these interneurons, which is independent of Bmp2b/Swirl activity. We found that a presumptive ventral signal, Hh signaling, acts to restrict the amount of dorsal sensory neurons and trunk neural crest. This restriction appears to occur very early in neural tissue development, likely prior to notochord or floor plate formation. A similar early role for Bmp signaling is suggested in the specification of dorsal neural cell types, since the bmp2b/swirl and bmp7/snailhouse genes are only coexpressed during gastrulation and within the tail bud, and are not found in the dorsal neural tube or overlying epidermal ectoderm. Thus, a gastrula Bmp2b/Swirl and Bmp7/Snailhouse-dependent activity gradient may not only act in the specification of the embryonic dorsoventral axis, but may also function in establishing dorsal and intermediate neuronal cell types of the spinal cord.     

Equivalent genetic roles for bmp7/snailhouse and bmp2b/swirl in dorsoventral pattern formation

A bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway acts in the establishment of the dorsoventral axis of the vertebrate embryo. Here we demonstrate the genetic requirement for two different Bmp ligand subclass genes for dorsoventral pattern formation of the zebrafish embryo. From the relative efficiencies observed in Bmp ligand rescue experiments, conserved chromosomal synteny, and isolation of the zebrafish bmp7 gene, we determined that the strongly dorsalized snailhouse mutant phenotype is caused by a mutation in the bmp7 gene. We show that the original snailhouse allele is a hypomorphic mutation and we identify a snailhouse/bmp7 null mutant. We demonstrate that the snailhouse/bmp7 null mutant phenotype is identical to the presumptive null mutant phenotype of the strongest dorsalized zebrafish mutant swirl/bmp2b, revealing equivalent genetic roles for these two Bmp ligands. Double mutant snailhouse/bmp7; swirl/bmp2b embryos do not exhibit additional or stronger dorsalized phenotypes, indicating that these Bmp ligands do not function redundantly in early embryonic development. Furthermore, overexpression experiments reveal that Bmp2b and Bmp7 synergize in the ventralization of wild-type embryos through a cell-autonomous mechanism, suggesting that Bmp2b/Bmp7 heterodimers may act in vivo to specify ventral cell fates in the zebrafish embryo.     

Bmp activity establishes a gradient of positional information throughout the entire neural plate.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps) are key regulators of dorsoventral (DV) patterning. Within the ectoderm, Bmp activity has been shown to inhibit neural development, promote epidermal differentiation and influence the specification of dorsal neurons and neural crest. In this study, we examine the patterning of neural tissue in mutant zebrafish embryos with compromised Bmp signalling activity. We find that although Bmp activity does not influence anteroposterior (AP) patterning, it does affect DV patterning at all AP levels of the neural plate. Thus, we show that Bmp activity is required for specification of cell fates around the margin of the entire neural plate, including forebrain regions that do not form neural crest. Surprisingly, we find that Bmp activity is also required for patterning neurons at all DV levels of the CNS. In swirl/bmp2b(-) (swr(-)) embryos, laterally positioned sensory neurons are absent whereas more medial interneuron populations are hugely expanded. However, in somitabun(-) (sbn(-)) embryos, which probably retain higher residual Bmp activity, it is the sensory neurons and not the interneurons that are expanded. Conversely, in severely Bmp depleted embryos, both interneurons and sensory neurons are absent and it is the most medial neurons that are expanded. These results are consistent with there being a gradient of Bmp-dependent positional information extending throughout the entire neural and non-neural ectoderm.     

Smad5 is required for mouse primordial germ cell development

Smad5, together with Smad1 and Smad8, have been implicated as downstream signal mediators for several bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Recent studies have shown that primordial germ cells (PGCs) are absent or greatly reduced in Bmp4 or Bmp8b mutant mice. To define the role of Smad5 in PGC development, we examined PGC number in Smad5 mutant mice by Oct4 whole-mount in situ hybridization and alkaline phosphatase staining. We found ectopic PGC-like cells in the amnion of some Smad5 mutant mice, however, the total number of PGCs was greatly reduced or completely absent in Smad5 mutant embryos, similar to Bmp4 or Bmp8b mutant embryos. Therefore, Smad5 is an important factor involved in PGC generation and localization.     

Zili antagonizes Bmp signaling to regulate dorsal-ventral patterning during zebrafish early embryogenesis

Bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) signaling plays a pivotal role in dorsal-ventral (DV) patterning in vertebrate embryos. Piwi proteins are required for germline and stem cell development. Our previous study demonstrated that Zili, zebrafish Piwil2, inhibits transforming growth factor (TGF)-βsignaling by interacting with Smad4, suggesting a role for zili in Bmp signaling. In the present study, zili-MO or zili mRNA was microinjected into one-cell embryos to knock down or elevate the expression of zili to study the role of zili during early zebrafish embryogenesis. Knockdown of zili inhibited the expression of dorsal marker genes, and enhanced that of ventral marker genes. In contrast, overexpression of zili promoted expression of dorsal marker genes, while it inhibited ventral marker genes. These results suggest that zili regulates DV patterning. The influence of zili on the Bmp pathway was further explored. Knockdown of zili resulted in higher expression levels of bmp2b, and bmp4, the Bmp signaling ligands, and reduced expression of chordin (chd), noggin (nog1), and follistatin (fst), which encode BMP antagonists. Meanwhile, overexpression of zili produced opposite effects. In conclusion, our results indicate that zili regulates dorsal-ventral patterning by antagonizing Bmp signaling during early embryogenesis in zebrafish.     

BMP signalling regulates anteroposterior endoderm patterning in zebrafish

In vertebrates, the embryonic dorsoventral asymmetry is regulated by the bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmp) activity gradient. In the present study, we have used dorsalized swirl (bmp2b) and ventralized chordino (chordin) zebrafish mutants to investigate the effects of dorsoventral signalling on endoderm patterning and on the differentiation and positioning of its derivatives. Alterations of dorsoventral Bmp signalling do not perturb the induction of endodermal precursors, as shown by normal amounts of cells expressing cas and sox17 in swirl and chordino gastrulae, but affect dramatically the expression pattern of her5, a regulator of endoderm anteroposterior patterning in zebrafish. In particular, increased levels of Bmp signalling in chordino gastrulae are associated with a markedly reduced her5 expression domain, that may be abolished by injecting bmp2b mRNA. Conversely, in swirl mutants, lacking Bmp2b, the her5 expression domain is expanded. Thus, a gradient of Bmp2b signalling defines the extension of the her5 expression domain at gastrulation and the allocation of anterior endodermal precursors. A balanced Bmp2b signalling is also required for the normal development of the pancreas, as shown by the sharp reduction of the pancreatic primordium in swirl embryos and its expansion in chordino mutants. In the latter, at 3 days post-fertilization, the increased Bmp signalling does not compromise the endocrine/exocrine pancreas compartmentalization, but the right/left positioning of the pancreas and liver is randomized. Our results suggest that by regulating the expression of her5, the Bmp2b/Chordin gradient directs the anteroposterior patterning of endoderm in zebrafish embryos.     

A Late Role for bmp2b in the Morphogenesis of Semicircular Canal Ducts in the Zebrafish Inner Ear

Background

The Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) genes bmp2 and bmp4 are expressed in highly conserved patterns in the developing vertebrate inner ear. It has, however, proved difficult to elucidate the function of BMPs during ear development as mutations in these genes cause early embryonic lethality. Previous studies using conditional approaches in mouse and chicken have shown that Bmp4 has a role in semicircular canal and crista development, but there is currently no direct evidence for the role of Bmp2 in the developing inner ear.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We have used an RNA rescue strategy to test the role of bmp2b in the zebrafish inner ear directly. Injection of bmp2b or smad5 mRNA into homozygous mutant swirl (bmp2b^−/−) embryos rescues the early patterning defects in these mutants and the fish survive to adulthood. As injected RNA will only last, at most, for the first few days of embryogenesis, all later development occurs in the absence of bmp2b function. Although rescued swirl adult fish are viable, they have balance defects suggestive of vestibular dysfunction. Analysis of the inner ears of these fish reveals a total absence of semicircular canal ducts, structures involved in the detection of angular motion. All other regions of the ear, including the ampullae and cristae, are present and appear normal. Early stages of otic development in rescued swirl embryos are also normal.

Conclusions/Significance

Our findings demonstrate a critical late role for bmp2b in the morphogenesis of semicircular canals in the zebrafish inner ear. This is the first demonstration of a developmental role for any gene during post-embryonic stages of otic morphogenesis in the zebrafish. Despite differences in the early stages of semicircular canal formation between zebrafish and amniotes, the role of Bmp2 in semicircular canal duct outgrowth is likely to be conserved between different vertebrate species.     

Smad2/3 activities are required for induction and patterning of the neuroectoderm in zebrafish

Smad2 and Smad3, two essential nuclear effectors of transforming growth factor (Tgf)-β signals, have been found to be implicated in mesoderm and endoderm development in vertebrate embryos. However, their roles in the induction and patterning of the neuroectoderm are not well established. In this study, we show that interference with Smad2/3 activities in zebrafish embryos, by injecting dnsmad3b mRNA encoding a dominant negative Smad3b mutant, inhibits the expression of the early neural markers sox2 and sox3 at the onset of gastrulation and results in reduction of the anterior neuroectodermal marker otx2 as well as the posterior neuroectodermal marker hoxb1b during late gastrulation, suggesting a role of Smad2/3 activities in neural induction. Conversely, excess Smad2/3 activities, caused by injecting smad3b mRNA, lead to an enhancement of sox2 and sox3 expression in the ventral domains but an inhibition of their expression in the dorsalmost region at early stages. Overexpression of smad3b also causes ventral expansion of the otx2 and hoxb1b expression domains accompanied with rostral shift of the hoxb1b domain at late gastrulation stages. Collectively, these data indicate that Smad2/3 activities are required for neural induction and neuroectodermal posteriorization in zebrafish. Knockdown of chordin partially inhibits effect of smad3b overexpression on neural induction, implying that Smad2/3 exert their effect on neural induction in part by regulating the expression of Bmp antagonists. Furthermore, down-regulation or up-regulation of Smad2/3 activities in MZoep mutant embryos, which lack the organizer and mesendodermal tissues due to deficiency of Nodal signaling, still affects induction and patterning of the neuroectoderm, suggesting that Smad2/3 activities are implicated in neural development in the absence of the organizer and mesendodermal tissues. We additionally demonstrate that Smad2/3 activities cooperate with Wnt and Fgf signals in neural development. Thus, Smad2/3 activities play important roles not only in mesendodermal development but also in neural development during early vertebrate embryogenesis.     

肌间刺缺失对斑马鱼骨骼发育的影响

利用斑马鱼(Danio rerio)野生型与肌间刺完全缺失突变型个体, 从骨骼染色和骨骼发育相关基因表达两方面, 初步评价了肌间刺缺失对斑马鱼骨骼发育的影响。通过骨骼染色对比观察了两种肌间刺表型个体受精后8dpf(days post fertilization, dpf)到56dpf的骨骼发育情况, 结果显示, 两种肌间刺表型除肌间刺外, 其他骨骼发育基本同步。此外, 通过qRT-PCR实验检测分析了6个骨骼发育相关基因(bmp2a、bmp4、smad1、smad4a、runx2a和sp7)在不同肌间刺表型5个胚胎发育时期(3hpf囊胚期、6hpf原肠胚期、12hpf体节期、24hpf咽囊期和72hpf孵化期)和5个胚后生长阶段(15、30、45、60和75dpf)的表达情况。结果显示:在胚胎发育时期, 野生型和突变型个体中bmp2a、bmp4、smad1、smad4a基因和突变型个体中sp7基因的表达均呈现先升后降的变化趋势, 且在体节期达到最高表达水平;野生型和突变型个体中runx2a基因和野生型个体中sp7基因则表现为逐渐上升的趋势。6个基因在囊胚期和原肠胚期表达量无显著差异, bmp2a的表达水平在体节期、咽囊期和孵化期无显著差异, 野生型个体bmp4、smad1、smad4a、runx2a基因在体节期、咽囊期和孵化期的表达水平明显高于突变型, 而sp7基因则表现为突变型明显高于野生型。胚后发育阶段 6个基因在5个生长阶段均呈现逐渐下降的趋势, 且在两种肌间刺表型间其表达仅在个别时期差异显著。综上所述, 肌间刺的缺失对斑马鱼骨骼发育表现型无显著影响, 只在胚胎发育时期影响骨骼相关基因表达水平的变化;结合骨骼染色结果, 推测肌间刺缺失对斑马鱼骨骼发育无显著影响。     

Expression of BMP signalling pathway members in the developing zebrafish inner ear and lateral line

In this paper we describe the mRNA expression patterns of members of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling pathway in the developing zebrafish ear. bmp2b, 4, and 7 are expressed in discrete areas of otic epithelium, some of which correspond to sensory patches. bmp2b and 4 mark the developing cristae before and during the appearance of differentiated hair cells. bmp4 is also expressed in a dorsal, non-sensory region of the ear. Expression of bmps in cristae is conserved between zebrafish, chick, and mouse, but there are also notable differences in ear expression patterns between these species. Of five zebrafish BMP antagonists, only one (follistatin) shows significant expression in the otic epithelium. The type I receptor bmpr-IB shows localised expression in the ear epithelium. Mediators of BMP signalling, smad1 and smad5, are expressed in statoacoustic and lateral line ganglia; smad5 is also expressed at low levels throughout the ear epithelium. An inhibitory smad, smad6, is expressed laterally in the ear epithelium. Lateral line primordia and neuromasts also express bmp2b, 4, follistatin, smad1, and smad5. The conservation of bmp expression in cristae among different species adds weight to the growing evidence that BMPs are required for the development of the vertebrate ear.     

Smad5 determines murine amnion fate through the control of bone morphogenetic protein expression and signalling levels

Smad5 is an intracellular mediator of bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) signalling. It is essential for primordial germ cell (PGC) development, for the development of the allantois and for amnion closure, as demonstrated by loss of Bmp signalling. By contrast, the appearance of ectopic PGC-like cells and regionalized ectopic vasculogenesis and haematopoiesis in thickened Smad5(m1/m1) amnion are amnion defects that have not been associated with loss of Bmp signalling components. We show that defects in amnion and allantois can already be detected at embryonic day (E) 7.5 in Smad5 mutant mice. However, ectopic Oct4-positive (Oct4(+)) and alkaline phosphatase-positive (AP(+)) cells appear suddenly in thickened amnion at E8.5, and at a remote distance from the allantois and posterior primitive streak, suggesting a change of fate in situ. These ectopic Oct4(+), AP(+) cells appear to be Stella negative and hence cannot be called bona fide PGCs. We demonstrate a robust upregulation of Bmp2 and Bmp4 expression, as well as of Erk and Smad activity, in the Smad5 mutant amnion. The ectopic expression of several Bmp target genes in different domains and the regionalized presence of cells of several Bmp-sensitive lineages in the mutant amnion suggest that different levels of Bmp signalling may determine cell fate. Injection of rBMP4 in the exocoelom of wild-type embryos can induce thickening of amnion, mimicking the early amnion phenotype in Smad5 mutants. These results support a model in which loss of Smad5 results paradoxically in gain of Bmp function defects in the amnion.     

The ventralizing activity of Radar, a maternally expressed bone morphogenetic protein, reveals complex bone morphogenetic protein interactions controlling dorso-ventral patterning in zebrafish

In Xenopus and zebrafish, BMP2, 4 and 7 have been implicated, after the onset of zygotic expression, in inducing and maintaining ventro-lateral cell fate during early development. We provide evidence here that a maternally expressed bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), Radar, may control early ventral specification in zebrafish. We show that Radar ventralizes zebrafish embryos and induces the early expression of bmp2b and bmp4. The analysis of Radar overexpression in both swirl/bmp2b mutants and embryos expressing truncated BMP receptors shows that Radar-induced ventralization is dependent on functional BMP2/4 pathways, and may initially rely on an Alk6-related signaling pathway. Finally, we show that while radar-injected swirl embryos still exhibit a strongly dorsalized phenotype, the overexpression of Radar into swirl/bmp2b mutant embryos restores ventral marker expression, including bmp4 expression. Our results suggest that a complex regulation of different BMP pathways controls dorso-ventral (DV) patterning from early cleavage stages until somitogenesis.