Polyketide Synthase Plays a Conserved Role in Otolith Formation.

ABSTRACT: Otoliths (ear stones) are biomineralized complexes essential for the balancing and hearing function of the inner ears in fish. Their formation is controlled by a genetically programmed biological process that is yet to be defined. We have isolated and characterized a spontaneous genetic mutant zebrafish with a complete absence of otoliths, named no otolith 1 (not1). not1 mutants are unable to develop otoliths during embryonic stages and fail to respond to acoustic stimuli, indicating an inner ear defect. We identified a deleterious mutation (G239R) that altered a highly conserved amino acid residue in the zebrafish ortholog of type I polyketide synthase (pks1) to underlie these phenotypes and showed that expression of the polyketide synthase gene of Japanese med

SUBMITTER: Lee MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685216 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature