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Niu M, Whang H, Wu Z, Jiang S, Chen L. Deletion of Asb15b gene can lead to a significant decrease in zebrafish intermuscular bone. Gene 2024; 923:148561. [PMID: 38754570 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Intermuscular bones, which are present in numerous economically significant fish species, have a negative impact on the development of aquaculture. The Asb15b gene, primarily expressed in skeletal muscle, plays a crucial role in regulating protein turnover and the development of muscle fibers. It stimulates protein synthesis and controls the differentiation of muscle fibers. In this study, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate homozygous zebrafish strains with 7 bp and 49 bp deletions in the Asb15b gene. Subsequent analyses using skeleton staining demonstrated a substantial reduction in the number of intermuscular bones in adult Asb15b-/- -7 bp and Asb15b-/- -49 bp mutants compared to the wild-type zebrafish, with decreases of 30 % (P < 0.001) and 40 % (P < 0.0001), respectively. Histological experiments further revealed that the diameter and number of muscle fibers in adult Asb15b-/- mutants did not exhibit significant changes when compared to wild-type zebrafish. Moreover, qRT-PCR experiments demonstrated significant differences in the expression of bmp6 and runx2b genes, which are key regulators of intermuscular bone development, during different stages of intermuscular bone development in Asb15b-/- mutants. This study strongly suggests that the Asb15b gene plays a crucial role in regulating intermuscular bone development in fish and lays the groundwork for further exploration of the role of the Asb15b gene in zebrafish intermuscular bone development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minghui Niu
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Huamin Whang
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Zhichao Wu
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Shouwen Jiang
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Liangbiao Chen
- College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Fishery Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201306, China.
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Nie CH, Wan SM, Chen YL, Huysseune A, Wu YM, Zhou JJ, Hilsdorf AWS, Wang WM, Witten PE, Lin Q, Gao ZX. Single-cell transcriptomes and runx2b-/- mutants reveal the genetic signatures of intermuscular bone formation in zebrafish. Natl Sci Rev 2022; 9:nwac152. [PMID: 36478733 PMCID: PMC9718792 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Intermuscular bones (IBs) are mineralized spicules, present in the myosepta of many, but not all, teleost species. IBs are often small and sharp, and they consequently limit how the fish can be processed; the IBs may cause injury or trauma if lodged in consumers' throats or mouths, and therefore affect the appeal of the fish to many consumers. The development of IBs in teleosts is still not fully understood and the molecular basis of IB development remains to be established. Here, the characteristics of IB tissue are evaluated based on single-cell transcriptomics in wild-type zebrafish. The analysis defined 18 distinct cell types. Differentiation trajectories showed that IBs are derived from tendons and that a core tendon-osteoblast cell lineage is related to IB formation. In particular, the functions of 10 candidate genes were evaluated via CRISPR-Cas9 mutants. Among those, runx2b-/- mutants completely lost IBs, while swimming performance, growth and bone mineral density were not significantly different from runx2b+/+ zebrafish. Comparative single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis in runx2b-/- and runx2b+/+ zebrafish revealed the role of osteoblasts in IB formation. In addition, differentially expressed genes were enriched in the transforming growth factor β/bone morphogenetic protein (TGF-β/BMP) pathway after runx2b deletion. This study provides evidence for the crucial role of runx2b regulation in IB formation. Genetic breeding can target runx2b regulation and generate strains of commercial fish species without IBs, which can improve the safe consumption and economic value of many farmed fish species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ann Huysseune
- Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
| | - Ya-Ming Wu
- College of Fisheries, Key Lab of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education/Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China,Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Jia-Jia Zhou
- College of Fisheries, Key Lab of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education/Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China,Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
| | | | - Wei-Min Wang
- College of Fisheries, Key Lab of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education/Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China,Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
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