Morphological and molecular evidence for functional organization along the rostrocaudal axis of the adult zebrafish intestine.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The zebrafish intestine is a simple tapered tube that is folded into three sections. However, whether the intestine is functionally similar along its length remains unknown. Thus, a systematic structural and functional characterization of the zebrafish intestine is desirable for future studies of the digestive tract and the intestinal biology and development.

Results

To characterize the structure and function of the adult zebrafish intestine, we divided the intestine into seven roughly equal-length segments, S1-S7, and systematically examined the morphology of the mucosal lining, histology of the epithelium, and molecular signatures from transcriptome analysis. Prominent morphological features are circumferentially-oriented villar ridges in segments S1-S6 and the

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2996925 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature