Functionally Essential and Structurally Diverse: Insights into the zebrafish Left-Right Organizer's Cilia via Optogenetic IFT88 Perturbation and Volume Electron Microscopy.

ABSTRACT: In the zebrafish left-right organizer (LRO), the Kupffer's Vesicle (KV), cilia extend from all cells into the fluid-filled lumen, but their structural diversity and contribution to morphogenesis remain incompletely defined. We hypothesized that cilia are required for KV development and may exist in distinct structural subtypes. Using a newly engineered transgenic line ( sox17:Cry2-GFP ), we optogenetically disrupted the intraflagellar transport protein IFT88 in KV progenitors via blue light-induced clustering of CIB1-RFP-IFT88. This perturbation impaired ciliogenesis and disrupted lumen formation, supporting a critical role for cilia in KV morphogenesis. To assess ciliary architecture, we used volume electron microscopy (vEM) to generate a high-resolution 3D ultrastructural map of m

SUBMITTER: Ononiwu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12439900 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature