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Biomedical subjects

G Streisinger

Publications and source records attributed to G Streisinger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Induction of mutations in the zebrafish with ultraviolet light.

Recessive lethal germline and specific locus somatic mutations were induced efficiently in the zebrafish by exposure of mature sperm to UV light. Mutagenesis of sperm yielded mosaic individuals: clones bearing novel mutations represented approximately 12-25% of the haploid germ cells and 25-50% of the somatic tissue. Simple methods are described for the reliable identification and propagation of newly arising developmental mutations in zebrafish.

Animals↗

Induction of recessive lethal and specific locus mutations in the zebrafish with ethyl nitrosourea.

Recessive lethal mutations and mutations at the gol-1 locus were induced in the zebrafish by exposure of mature sperm to the alkylating agent ethyl nitrosourea (ENU). Embryonic lethal phenotypes were recognized among the parthenogenetic progeny of mutagenized animals or among the progeny of daughters of mutagenized animals. Novel specific locus mutations were identified by the failure of mutagenized chromosomes to complement pre-existing mutant alleles at the gol-1 locus. Each mutagenized individual harboured approximately 10 embryonic lethal mutations in its germ line and about 1 in 500 mutagenized animals harboured a new mutation at the gol-1 locus. Three lines of evidence indicate that the majority of mutations that were recovered following treatment of mature sperm with ENU were probably point mutations. First, the soma and germ lines of mutagenized animals were mosaic, as expected following simple alkylation of sperm DNA. Second, mutations induced by ENU at the gol-1 locus affected pigmentation but not viability, unlike the majority of mutations induced at this locus with gamma-irradiation. Third, the ratio of specific locus:recessive lethal mutations induced by ENU was approximately 50-fold lower than the ratio observed following mutagenesis with gamma-rays. Comparison of the incidence with which embryonic recessive lethal mutations were induced with the incidence with which specific locus mutations arose indicates that there are greater than 5000 genes essential to the development and viability of the zebrafish embryo.

Alkylation↗

Mutations affecting skeletal muscle myofibril structure in the zebrafish.

We describe embryonic lethal mutations in the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio, which affect organization of skeletal muscle myofibrils. The mutations, fub-1(b45) and fub-1(b126), were independently isolated from progeny of gamma-irradiated females. Each segregates as a single recessive gene: b45 is located about 23 map units from its centromere. The b126 mutation has a similar but slightly larger apparent gene-centromere distance and a less severe phenotype. The two mutations fail to complement, suggesting that they are allelic. Homozygous b45 mutant embryos are paralyzed, and their axial skeletal muscle cells are unstriated, containing severely disorganized myofibrillar components. Gel-electrophoretic comparisons of b45 mutant and wild-type muscle proteins failed to reveal absent or altered major myofibrillar proteins. Embryos genetically mosaic for b45 were also phenotypically mosaic, suggesting that the defect is cell-autonomous. We suggest that these mutations identify a gene required for proper organization of skeletal muscle myofibrils, and that the more severe mutation may represent a null allele.

Animals↗

Clonal origins of cells in the pigmented retina of the zebrafish eye.

Mosaic analysis has been used to study the clonal basis of the development of the pigmented retina of the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio. Zebrafish embryos heterozygous for a recessive mutation at the gol-1 locus were exposed to gamma-irradiation at various developmental stages to create mosaic individuals consisting of wild-type pigmented cells and a clone of pigmentless (golden) cells in the eye. The contribution of individual embryonic cells to the pigmented retina was measured and the total number of cells in the embryo that contributed descendants to this tissue was determined. Until the 32-cell stage, almost every blastomere has some descendants that participate in the formation of the pigmented retina of the zebrafish. During subsequent cell divisions, up to the several thousand-cell stage, the number of ancestral cells is constant: approximately 40 cells are present that will give rise to progeny in the pigmented retina. Analysis of the size of clones in the pigmented retina indicates that the cells of this tissue do not arise through a rigid series of cell divisions originating in the early embryo. The findings that each cleavage stage cell contributes to the pigmented retina and yet the contribution of such cells is highly variable are consistent with the interpretation that clonal descendants of different blastomeres normally intermix extensively prior to formation of the pigmented retina.

Animals↗

A neural degeneration mutation that spares primary neurons in the zebrafish.

We describe an embryonic lethal mutation in the zebrafish Brachydanio rerio that specifically affects the viability of most cells in the embryonic central nervous system (CNS). The mutation ned-1 (b39rl) was induced with gamma-irradiation and segregates as a single recessive allele closely linked to its centromere. It produces massive cell death in the CNS but a small set of specific neurons, including Rohon-Beard sensory neurons, large hindbrain interneurons, and primary motoneurons, survive embryogenesis and are functional. Synaptic connections between embryonic motoneurons and muscle cells appear physiologically normal, and the normally observed spontaneous flexions are present. Correlated with the presence of sensory neurons and interneurons, mutant embryos display reflexive movements in response to mechanical stimulation. Together, the surviving neurons, called primary neurons, form a class of cells that are prominent in size and arise early during development. Thus, this mutation may define a function that is differentially required by developmentally distinguishable sets of cells in the embryonic CNS.

Animals↗

Segregation analyses and gene-centromere distances in zebrafish.

The gol-1, gol-2, alb-1 and spa-1 mutations affect pigment pattern in the zebrafish. We show here that these loci are unlinked to each other. In addition, gene-centromere distances were determined for these loci by analysis of half-tetrads obtained by the inhibition of the second meiotic division. The fractions of tetratype (second-division segregation) tetrads range from 0.24 (spa-1) to 0.89 (gol-1). The observation of greater than 0.67 second-division segregation indicates that the zebrafish has high chiasma interference.

Animals↗

Larval and adult visual pigments of the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio.

Photoreceptors of adult and larval zebrafish were assayed by microspectrophotometry to characterize their visual pigments, and to determine when the visual pigments first appear during development. Short single cone outer segments contained a pigment with a lambdamax near 417 nm. Long single cones and long members of double cone outer segments contained a pigment with a lambdamax near 480 nm. Short members of double cone outer segments contained a pigment with a lambdamax near 556 nm. Rod outer segments contained a rhodopsin with a lambdamax near 501 nm. All four visual pigment types found in adult photoreceptors were present in the earliest measurable larval photoreceptors.

Aging↗

Mechanisms of spontaneous and induced frameshift mutation in bacteriophage T4.

Frequencies of spontaneous and proflavine-induced frameshift mutations increased dramatically as a function of the number of reiterated base pairs at each of two sites in the lysozyme gene of bacteriophage T4. At each site, proflavine induces addition mutations more frequently than deletion mutations. We confirm that the steroidal diamine, irehdiamine A, induces frameshift addition mutations. At sites of reiterated bases, we propose that base pairing is misaligned adjacent to a gap. The misaligned configuration is stabilized by the stacking of mutagen molecules around the extrahelical base, forming a sandwich. Proflavine induces addition mutations efficiently at a site without any reiterated bases. Mutagenesis at such sites may be due to mutagen-induced stuttering of the replication complex.

Base Sequence↗

Attainment of minimal biological variability and measurements of genotoxicity: production of homozygous diploid zebra fish.

Zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio) are particularly suited for carcinogenicity testing and for the establishment of quantitative dose-response relationships. They are small, prolific, have short generation times, and produce eggs which develop synchronously and can be treated at identical developmental stages. Clones of homozygotes with minimal genetic variability provide a reproducible biological test system. Rapid measurements of the frequency of induced somatic mosaicism (demonstrated with gamma radiation, ethyl methanesulfonate, and ethylnitrosourea) and induced germ-line recessive-lethal mutation provide indexes of exposure.

Animals↗

Frame shift mutations near the beginning of the lysozyme gene of bacteriophage T4.

A pair of frame shift mutations in the lysozyme gene of bacteriophage T4 results in the substitution of a glutamyl-tyrosyl sequence for the asparagine residue that is the penultimate amino-terminal amino acid in the lysozyme of the wild-type strain. One of the mutations has been identified as the insertion of two bases, the other as the insertion of a single base.

Amino Acid Sequence↗