The zebrafish has a group of genes that seems critical in developing organs! The researchers studied zebrafish secretome genes, which make proteins located on the surface or outside of cells in the body. But, why zebrafish?
They are a good model to study how the vascular system develops. The existing genes in it have the same function in both zebrafish and humans.
These genes are responsible for directing the body’s “patterning”! - i.e. developing different systems and processes, like blood and blood vessel development, forming the eyes and ears, and metabolizing lipids, or fats.
The genes also ensure that cells divide, differentiate and migrate for forming vital organs properly in the correct places during their development. Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., associate professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and lead author on the international multi-institutional study said,
The different gene phenotypes found in the collection give us a new level of resolution for how these organs develop.
The international multi-institutional study includes scientists from the Max-Planck Institute of Immunology in Freiburg, Germany, and the Carnegie Institute of Washington in Baltimore, Maryland.
For making this study, the scientists examined 150 genes, planning tocontinue to work their way through all 4,000 genes that make up the secretome.
