A zebrafish homologue of the chemokine receptor Cxcr4 is a germ-cell guidance receptor

Germ cells preserve an individual's genetic information and transmit it to the next generation. Early in development germ cells are set aside and undergo a specialized developmental programme, a hallmark of which is the migration from their site of origin to the future gonad. In Drosophila, sev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2003-01, Vol.421 (6920), p.279-282
Main Authors: Knaut, Holger, Werz, Christian, Geisler, Robert, The Tübingen 2000 Screen Consortium, Nüsslein-Volhard, Christiane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteria
Biological and medical sciences
Biology
Cell physiology
Chemokine CXCL12
Chemokines, CXC - genetics
Chemokines, CXC - metabolism
Chemotaxis
Danio rerio
Drosophila
Fish
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics
Germ Cells - cytology
Germ Cells - metabolism
Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Molecular and cellular biology
Motility and taxis
multidisciplinary
Mutation - genetics
odysseus gene
Receptors, CXCR4 - genetics
Receptors, CXCR4 - metabolism
RNA, Messenger - genetics
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Zebrafish - embryology
Zebrafish - genetics
Zebrafish - metabolism
Zebrafish Proteins - genetics
Zebrafish Proteins - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Germ cells preserve an individual's genetic information and transmit it to the next generation. Early in development germ cells are set aside and undergo a specialized developmental programme, a hallmark of which is the migration from their site of origin to the future gonad. In Drosophila, several factors have been identified that control germ-cell migration to their target tissues; however, the germ-cell chemoattractant or its receptor have remained unknown. Here we apply genetics and in vivo imaging to show that odysseus, a zebrafish homologue of the G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor Cxcr4, is required specifically in germ cells for their chemotaxis. odysseus mutant germ cells are able to activate the migratory programme, but fail to undergo directed migration towards their target tissue, resulting in randomly dispersed germ cells. SDF-1, the presumptive cognate ligand for Cxcr4, shows a similar loss-of-function phenotype and can recruit germ cells to ectopic sites in the embryo, thus identifying a vertebrate ligand-receptor pair guiding migratory germ cells at all stages of migration towards their target.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/nature01338