Genetic ablation of the Bsx homeodomain transcription factor in zebrafish: Impact on mature pineal gland morphology and circadian behavior.

ABSTRACT: The pineal gland is a neuroendocrine structure in the brain, which produces and secretes the hormone melatonin at nighttime and is considered a key element in the circadian clock system. Early morphogenesis of the gland is controlled by a number of transcription factors, some of which remain active in adult life. One of these is the brain-specific homeobox (Bsx), a highly conserved homeodomain transcription factor with a developmental role in the pineal gland of several species, including zebrafish, and regulatory roles in mature pinealocytes of the rat. To determine the role of Bsx in circadian biology, we here examined the effects of a bsx loss-of-function mutation on the pineal gland in adult zebrafish and on behavioral circadian rhythms in larvae. In pineal cell type-specific Gfp/Egfp

SUBMITTER: Carstensen MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9285933 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature