Congress Abstracts - Society for Developmental Biology

Program/Abstract # 257
Fritz Governs Ciliogenesis in Xenopus laevis.
Kim, Su Kyoung (Univ of Texas-Austin, USA); Park, Tae Joo (Ulsan Metropolitan City, Korea); Abitua, Phil B. (University of
California-Berkeley, USA); Wallingford, John B. (Univ of Texas-Austin, USA)
Cilia are evolutionarily conserved microtubule-based organelles projecting from nearly all vertebrate cells, and ciliary defects result in
a variety of human disorders known as ciliopathies. Recent studies have shown that several planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins are
essential for cilia functions. Here, we focused on Fritz, known as a novel PCP effector protein in Drosophila, in multi-ciliated cells in
the epidermis of Xenopus laevis embryos. To investigate the role of Fritz, using confocal and scanning electron microscopy, we
discovered that Fritz localizes along the ciliary axonemes and that knockdown of Fritz causes severe reductions in axonemes length
and number. Then, using pull-downs and mass-spectrometry, we identified the Chaperonin Containing T-complex polypeptide 1
(CCT) and septin as interacting partners of Fritz. CCT is the key chaperonin interacting with septins, and both have been implicated in
ciliogenesis. Using tagged CCT subunit constructs, we found that the tagged CCTα and CCTε co-localize with Fritz along the ciliary
axonemes of multi-ciliated cells. Knocking-down of Fritz results in the accumulation of CCT at the apical cytoplasm in multi-ciliated
cells; however, we confirmed that Fritz does not affect the CCT holoenzyme assembly. Septins, another interacting partner of Fritz,
are novel cytoskeletal elements. Using septin antibodies, we found that endogenous septins also localize along the axonemes and
accumulate in the apical cytoplasm of multi-ciliated cells in Fritz morphants. Similar ciliary defects were observed in septins
morphants. Our data reveal that Fritz is essential for ciliogenesis, and that CCT and septin may interact with Fritz to control
ciliogenesis in Xenopus multi-ciliated cells.
Program/Abstract # 258
Molecular basis of principles of regeneration: distalization and intercalation
Agata, Kiyokazu, (Kyoto University, Japan
Regeneration is always conducted under the control of positional information. The distal portion of the body is formed immediately
after wound healing around the cut surface (a step called ‘distalization’), and interaction of the newly formed distal portion and the
remaining proximal portion may next induce reorganization of positional information, and lost tissues are then intercalatively
generated to restore the original structures (‘intercalation’). We proposed that this is probably a general principal of regeneration from
invertebrates to vertebrates (Agata et al., Dev. Growth Differ., 49, 73–78, 2007). Recently we found that the molecular basis
underlying diatalization and intercalation is also very similar among different regeneration events, although the tissues acquiring distal
characteristics and cells participating in the regeneration of lost tissues vary among different animals and different regeneration
systems. Here we will compare the molecular mechanisms of planarian regeneration and newt limb regeneration and then discuss
common aspects of regeneration.
Program/Abstract # 259
GXD: A Gene Expression Resource for Developmental Biologists
Smith, Constance M.; Finger, Jacqueline H.; Hayamizu, Terry F.; McCright, Ingeborg J.; Xu, Jingxia; Eppig, Janan T.; Kadin, James
A.; Richardson, Joel E.; Ringwald, Martin (Jackson Lab, USA)
By integrating large amounts of mouse developmental expression information, and by making these data readily accessible and easily
searchable, the Gene Expression Database (GXD) supports investigators in their quest to understand the molecular mechanisms of
developmental and disease. GXD contains expression information from wild-type and mutant mice and integrates different types of
expression data, including those derived from RNA in situ and immunohistochemistry experiments. Expression data from the
literature is added to the database by the GXD staff. Data is also acquired directly from researchers, including groups doing large-scale
expression studies. GXD currently contains 1.4 million expression results for nearly 13,700 genes. As well, GXD has nearly 250,000
images of expression data, allowing users to retrieve the primary data and interpret it themselves. By being an integral part of the
larger Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) resource, GXD combines its expression data with other genetic and disease-oriented data.
Thus, GXD can provide tools that allow users to evaluate expression data in the larger context and search by a wide variety of
parameters and in ways unavailable elsewhere. Recent interface enhancements include the capability to search for expression data for
genes that are associated with specific phenotypes and/or human diseases. Data summaries have become more interactive and include
export features that make it possible to download these data for further analyses. GXD is available through the MGI web site at
www.informatics.jax.org/expression.shtml. GXD is supported by NIH grant HD062499.
Program/Abstract # 260
The Sanger Mouse Genetics Project: High Throughput Recessive Lethality and DMDD Screens
Galli, Antonella; Ramirez-Solis, Ramiro; Estabel, Jeanne; White, Jacqui; Tuck, Elizabeth; Jones, Catherine; Green, Angela; Hooks,
Yvette; Souter, Luke; Ryder, Edward; Adams, David (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK); Mohun, Tim; Wilson, Robert (MRC, UK)
The Sanger Institute Mouse Genetics Project (MGP) is a major contributor in the worldwide effort to develop mouse models to
understand human genetic diseases. Over the next five years, the MGP aims to generate, cryopreserve and perform primary
phenotypic characterization of over 800 lines of mice . A standardised battery of primary phenotyping tests is performed on all lines
without any prior assumptions about gene function. To date, 37% of the 699 lines studied by the MGP are classified as lethal or subviable
at postnatal day 14 due to non-Mendelian homozygous viability rates. To explore potential defects during embryogenesis, the
74