Project description:During craniofacial development, different populations of cartilage and bone forming cells develop in precise locations in the head. Most of these cells are derived from pluripotent cranial neural crest cells. The mechanisms that divide neural crest cells into distinct populations are not fully understood. Here we use single-cell RNA sequencing to transcriptomically define different populations of cranial neural crest cells. We discovered that the transcription factor encoding alx gene family is restricted to the frontonasal population of neural crest cells. Furthermore, genetic mutant analyses indicate that alx3 functions to subdivide the frontonasal population into medial versus lateral subpopulations. Our results support a mechanism in which the alx gene family functions as an identity code, subdividing frontonasal neural crest cells into distinct subpopulations. This study furthers our understanding of how different skeletal cell fates are established during craniofacial development and how these mechanisms can go awry in genetic diseases.
Project description:Deregulated DNA replication is a major contributor to human developmental disorders and cancer, yet our understanding of how replication is coordinated with changes in transcription and chromatin structure is limited. Our lab has employed the zebrafish model to investigate the mechanisms driving changes in the replication timing program during development. Previous studies have identified changes in replication timing patterns from the onset of zygotic transcription through gastrulation in zebrafish embryos. The protein Rif1 is crucial for replication timing in a wide range of eukaryotes, yet its role in establishing the replication timing program and chromatin structure during early vertebrate development is not well understood. Using Rif1 mutant zebrafish and performing RNA sequencing and whole-genome replication timing analysis, we found that Rif1 mutants were viable but had a defect in female sex determination. Interestingly, Rif1 loss primarily affected DNA replication timing after gastrulation, while its impact on transcription was more pronounced during zygotic genome activation. Our results indicate that Rif1 has distinct roles in regulating DNA replication and transcription at different stages of development.
Project description:The temporal order of DNA replication is modified during differentiation, but when a replication timing program is established and what alterations occur in vivo during embryogenesis are not known. Here we used zebrafish embryos to generate genome-wide, high-resolution replication timing maps throughout development. Unexpectedly, a non-random and defined replication timing program was evident in the rapid cell cycles before the midblastula transition. The majority of the genome undergoes dynamic shifts in replication timing throughout development as the timing program is decompressed, with many abrupt timing changes occurring during lineage specification. Strikingly, the long arm of chromosome 4 undergoes a developmentally regulated switch to late replication, reminiscent of mammalian X chromosome inactivation. This analysis also revealed a strong relationship between early replication and epigenetic marks at enhancers. Collectively, these data reveal the major changes in replication timing that occur during zebrafish embryogenesis, and demonstrate its dynamic regulation during vertebrate development.
Project description:The basic helix-loop-helix factor Myod initiates skeletal muscle differentiation by directly and sequentially activating sets of muscle differentiation genes, including those encoding muscle contractile proteins. We hypothesize that Pbx homeodomain proteins direct Myod to a subset of its transcriptional targets, in particular fast twitch muscle differentiation genes, thereby regulating the competence of muscle precursor cells to differentiate. We have previously shown that Pbx proteins bind with Myod on the promoter of the zebrafish fast muscle gene mylpfa and that Pbx proteins are required for Myod to activate mylpfa expression and the fast-twitch muscle-specific differentiation program in zebrafish embryos. Here we have investigated the interactions of Pbx with another muscle fiber-type regulator, Prdm1a, a SET-domain DNA-binding factor that directly represses mylpfa expression and fast muscle differentiation. The prdm1a mutant phenotype, early and increased fast muscle differentiation, is the opposite of the Pbx-null phenotype, delayed and reduced fast muscle differentiation. To determine whether Pbx and Prdm1a have opposing activities on a common set of genes, we used RNA-seq analysis to globally assess gene expression in zebrafish embryos with single- and double-losses-of-function for Pbx and Prdm1a. We find that the levels of expression of certain fast muscle genes are increased or approximately wild type in pbx2/4-MO;prdm1a-/- embryos, suggesting that Pbx activity normally counters the repressive action of Prdm1a for a subset of the fast muscle program. However, other fast muscle genes require Pbx but are not regulated by Prdm1a. Thus, our findings reveal that subsets of the fast muscle program are differentially regulated by Pbx and Prdm1a. Our findings provide an example of how Pbx homeodomain proteins act in a balance with other transcription factors to regulate subsets of a cellular differentiation program. Total RNA samples were genotyped and pooled for 4 sample types: control-MO;prdm1+/+; control-MO;prdm1-/-; pbx2/4-MO;prdm1+/+; and pbx2/4-MO;prdm1-/- embryos at the 10 somite (s) stage from three independent sets of egg collections/injections.
Project description:The ANKRD1 gene is responsive to different forms of mechanical stress, including injury, stretching, resistance exercise, and eccentric contractions. We showed that ankrd1a, zebrafish homologue of mammalian ANKRD1, gets activated in the heart, after cryoinjury of the ventricle and in skeletal muscle after stab wound, suggesting its role in muscle healing processes. To identify targets of ankrd1a involved in skeletal muscle repair we performed RNA-seq of injured adult ankrd1a mutant and wt zebrafish muscle at 5 days post injury. Non-injured skeletal muscle of both genotypes were used as controls. The loss of ankrd1a function affected the expression of genes involved in muscle contraction, muscle cell differentiation, MAPK and integrin-mediated signaling pathways, and cell-substrate adhesion. Our findings offer novel insights into the ankrd1a function and skeletal muscle repair in adult zebrafish.
Project description:The basic helix-loop-helix factor Myod initiates skeletal muscle differentiation by directly and sequentially activating sets of muscle differentiation genes, including those encoding muscle contractile proteins. We hypothesize that Pbx homeodomain proteins direct Myod to a subset of its transcriptional targets, in particular fast twitch muscle differentiation genes, thereby regulating the competence of muscle precursor cells to differentiate. We have previously shown that Pbx proteins bind with Myod on the promoter of the zebrafish fast muscle gene mylpfa and that Pbx proteins are required for Myod to activate mylpfa expression and the fast-twitch muscle-specific differentiation program in zebrafish embryos. Here we have investigated the interactions of Pbx with another muscle fiber-type regulator, Prdm1a, a SET-domain DNA-binding factor that directly represses mylpfa expression and fast muscle differentiation. The prdm1a mutant phenotype, early and increased fast muscle differentiation, is the opposite of the Pbx-null phenotype, delayed and reduced fast muscle differentiation. To determine whether Pbx and Prdm1a have opposing activities on a common set of genes, we used RNA-seq analysis to globally assess gene expression in zebrafish embryos with single- and double-losses-of-function for Pbx and Prdm1a. We find that the levels of expression of certain fast muscle genes are increased or approximately wild type in pbx2/4-MO;prdm1a-/- embryos, suggesting that Pbx activity normally counters the repressive action of Prdm1a for a subset of the fast muscle program. However, other fast muscle genes require Pbx but are not regulated by Prdm1a. Thus, our findings reveal that subsets of the fast muscle program are differentially regulated by Pbx and Prdm1a. Our findings provide an example of how Pbx homeodomain proteins act in a balance with other transcription factors to regulate subsets of a cellular differentiation program.