| Budget Amount *help |
¥11,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥11,900,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥3,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥3,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Gastrulating vertebrate embryos generate the three germ layers, known as ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm during early development. The induction and differentiation of endodermal cells and the formation of organs derived from the gut tube have been poorly analyzed in comparison to ectoderm or mesoderm. However, in the past few years, zebrafish mutants and knockout mice which have disrupted endoderm formation, and the molecular functions of Xenopus genes involved in endoderm formation, have been extensively analyzed. As a result of these studies, our understanding of endoderm development is now fairly advanced in early vertebrate embryos. In particular, these genetic and molecular biological approaches have led to a more detailed understanding of the molecular regulation of the endoderm.
In spite of these efforts, however, many mechanisms, such as the fate choice of endodermal cells, the migration of endodermal cells during gastrulation and the regional specification of the endoderm along the anterior-posterior axis, which are essential to fully understand its differentiation, are not well understood. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of endoderm and endodermal organ formation, I planned to search the new zebrafish mutants, which show the defects in endoderm formation. We have already screened 130 fish pairs (260 genomes) and succeeded to find the three new mutants. The two mutants (legato and morendo) show defects in the intestinal epithelium formation. The other mutant (decrescendo) shows the defects in endodermal organ formation. We are analyzing the phenotype of these mutants and trying to find the mutated genes.
|
