Tbx2b is required for ultraviolet photoreceptor cell specification during zebrafish retinal development.

ABSTRACT: The vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors are highly specialized sensory neurons that transduce light into the chemical and electrical signals of the nervous system. Although the physiological properties of cones and rods are well known, only a handful of genes have been identified that regulate the specification of photoreceptor subtypes. Taking advantage of the mosaic organization of photoreceptors in zebrafish, we report the isolation of a mutation resulting in a unique change in photoreceptor cell fate. Mutation of the lots-of-rods (lor) locus results in a near one-for-one transformation of UV-cone precursors into rods. The transformed cells exhibit morphological characteristics and a gene-expression pattern typical of rods, but differentiate in a temporal and spatial pattern consiste

SUBMITTER: Alvarez-Delfin K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2632714 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature