Iridophores and their interactions with other chromatophores are required for stripe formation in zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: Colour patterns of adult fish are produced by several types of pigment cells that distribute in the dermis during juvenile development. The zebrafish, Danio rerio, displays a striking pattern of dark stripes of melanophores interspersed by light stripes of xanthophores. Mutants lacking either cell type do not form proper stripes, indicating that interactions between these two chromatophore types are required for stripe formation. A third cell type, silvery iridophores, participates to render a shiny appearance to the pattern, but its role in stripe formation has been unclear. Mutations in rose (rse) or shady (shd) cause a lack or strong reduction of iridophores in adult fish; in addition, the melanophore number is drastically reduced and stripes are broken up into spots. We show that rse a

SUBMITTER: Frohnhofer HG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3912879 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature