Gene Duplication of the zebrafish kit ligand and partitioning of melanocyte development functions to kit ligand a.

ABSTRACT: The retention of particular genes after the whole genome duplication in zebrafish has given insights into how genes may evolve through partitioning of ancestral functions. We examine the partitioning of expression patterns and functions of two zebrafish kit ligands, kit ligand a (kitla) and kit ligand b (kitlb), and discuss their possible coevolution with the duplicated zebrafish kit receptors (kita and kitb). In situ hybridizations show that kitla mRNA is expressed in the trunk adjacent to the notochord in the middle of each somite during stages of melanocyte migration and later expressed in the skin, when the receptor is required for melanocyte survival. kitla is also expressed in other regions complementary to kita receptor expression, including the pineal gland, tail bud, and ear. In c

SUBMITTER: Hultman KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1781495 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature