Umeå University's logo

The pigment pattern of many animal species is a result of the arrangement of different types of pigment-producing chromatophores. The zebrafish has three different types of chromatophores: black melanophores, yellow xanthophores, and shimmering iridophores arranged in a characteristic pattern of golden and blue horizontal stripes. In the zebrafish embryo, chromatophores derive from the neural crest cells. Using pax7a and pax7b zebrafish mutants, we identified a previously unknown requirement for Pax7 in xanthophore lineage formation. The absence of Pax7 results in a severe reduction of xanthophore precursor cells and a complete depletion of differentiated xanthophores in embryos as well as in adult zebrafish. In contrast, the melanophore lineage is increased in pax7a/pax7b double-mutant embryos and larvae, whereas juvenile and adult pax7a/pax7b double-mutant zebrafish display a severe decrease in melanophores and a pigment pattern disorganization indicative of a xanthophore-deficient phenotype. In summary, we propose a novel role for Pax7 in the early specification of chromatophore precursor cells.

Numerous muscle lineages are formed during myogenesis within both slow-and fast-specific cell groups. In this study, we show that six fast muscle-specific myosin heavy chain genes have unique expression patterns in the zebrafish embryo. The expression of tail-specific myosin heavy chain (fmyhc2.1) requires wnt signaling and is essential for fast muscle organization within the tail. Retinoic acid treatment results in reduced wnt signaling, which leads to loss of the fmyhc2.1 domain. Retinoic acid treatment also results in a shift of muscle identity within two trunk domains defined by expression of fmyhc1.2 and fmyhc1.3 in favor of the anteriormost myosin isoform, fmyhc1.2. In summary, we identify new muscle domains along the anteroposterior axis in the zebrafish that are defined by individual nonoverlapping, differentially regulated expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms.