期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2004
卷号：101
期号：35
页码：12792-12797
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0403929101
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：We completed a large insertional mutagenesis screen in zebrafish to identify genes essential for embryonic and early larval development. We isolated 525 mutants, representing lesions in {approx}390 different genes, and we cloned the majority of these. Here we describe 315 mutants and the corresponding genes. Our data suggest that there are roughly 1,400 embryonic-essential genes in the fish. Thus, we have mutations in {approx}25% of these genes and have cloned {approx}22% of them. Re-screens of our collection to identify mutants with specific developmental defects suggest that {approx}50 genes are essential for the development of some individual organs or cell types. Seventy-two percent of the embryonic-essential fish genes have homologues in yeast, 93% have homologues in invertebrates (fly or worm), and 99% have homologues in human. Yeast and worm orthologues of genes that are essential for early zebrafish development have a strong tendency to be essential for viability in yeast and for embryonic development in the worm. Thus, the trait of being a genetically essential gene is conserved in evolution. This mutant collection should be a valuable resource for diverse studies of cell and developmental biology.
