Zebrafish Stripes as a Model for Vertebrate Colour Pattern Formation
Open accessAbstract
Colour patterns are prominent features of many animals and have important functions in communication, such as camouflage, kin recognition and mate choice. As targets for natural as well as sexual selection, they are of high evolutionary significance. The molecular mechanisms underlying colour pattern formation in vertebrates are not well understood. Progress in transgenic tools, in vivo imaging and the availability of a large collection of mutants make the zebrafish (Danio rerio) an attractive model to study vertebrate colouration. Zebrafish display golden and blue horizontal stripes that form during metamorphosis as mosaics of yellow xanthophores, silvery or blue iridophores and black melanophores in the hypodermis. Lineage tracing revealed the origin of the adult pigment cells and their individual cellular behaviours during the formation of the striped pattern. Mutant analysis indicated that interactions between all three pigment cell types are required for the formation of the pattern, and a number of cell surface molecules and signalling systems have been identified as mediators of these interactions. The understanding of the mechanisms that underlie colour pattern formation is an important step towards deciphering the genetic basis of variation in evolution.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The pigmentation-mutant strategy is considerably less disruptive because it uses viable mutations affecting genes expressed in specific cell subsets involved in defined pigment-production processes.
“In contrast, the second strategy is considerably less disruptive since it takes advantage of viable mutations affecting the function of genes expressed in specific subsets of cells where they are involved in defined processes of pigment production5.”
From A crystal-clear zebrafish for in vivo imaging (2016) · cites this paper as [5]
The passage on adult viable colour mutants (indexed as Abstract; page unavailable) describes mutations affecting pigment formation, including examples that leave the cellular stripe pattern intact. It does not establish that the genes used in this strategy are generally expressed only in specific cell subsets; it also distinguishes pigment formation from other processes affected by viable colour mutations. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn zebrafish, multiple populations of cells produce pigments that ultimately restrict the optical accessibility of tissues.
“In zebrafish, multiple populations of cells produce pigments that ultimately restrict the optical accessibility of tissues56.”
From A crystal-clear zebrafish for in vivo imaging (2016) · cites this paper as [5]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Efficient genome editing in zebrafish using a CRISPR-Cas system
Hwang, W. Y., Fu, Y., Reyon, D., Maeder, M. L., Tsai, S. Q., Sander, J. D., Peterson, R. T., Yeh, J.-R. J., & Joung, J. K. (2013) · Nature Biotechnology · doi:10.1038/nbt.2501 · Cited by 2,937 · see citing works
Genome-wide detection and characterization of positive selection in human populations
The International HapMap Consortium, Sabeti, P. C., Varilly, P., Fry, B., Lohmueller, J., Hostetter, E., Cotsapas, C., Xie, X., Byrne, E. H., McCarroll, S. A., et al. (2007) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature06250 · Cited by 2,131 · see citing works
SLC24A5, a putative cation exchanger, affects pigmentation in zebrafish and humans
Lamason, R. L., Mohideen, M.-A. P. K., Mest, J. R., Wong, A. C., Norton, H. L., Aros, M. C., Jurynec, M. J., Mao, X., Humphreville, V. R., Humbert, J. E., et al. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1116238 · Cited by 1,043 · see citing works
The Genetic Basis of White Tigers
Xu, X., Dong, G.-X., Hu, X.-S., Miao, L., Zhang, X.-L., Zhang, D.-L., Yang, H.-D., Zhang, T.-Y., Zou, Z.-T., Zhang, T.-T., et al. (2013) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.054 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 17
- [1]1. Caro, T. The colours of extant mammals Semin. Cell Dev. Biol. 2013; 24:542-552 Crossref Scopus (51) PubMed Google Scholar
- [2]2. Le Douarin, N.M. ∙ Kalcheim, C. The Neural Crest Cambridge University Press, 1999 Crossref Google Scholar
- [4]4. Johnson, S.L. ∙ Africa, D. ∙ Walker, C. ... Genetic control of adult pigment stripe development in zebrafish Dev. Biol. 1995; 167:27-33 Crossref Scopus (173) PubMed Google Scholar
- [5]5. Haffter, P. ∙ Odenthal, J. ∙ Mullins, M.C. ... Mutations affecting pigmentation and shape of the adult zebrafish Dev. Genes Evol. 1996; 206:260-276 Crossref Scopus (111) PubMed Google Scholar
- [6]6. Kelsh, R.N. ∙ Brand, M. ∙ Jiang, Y.J. ... Zebrafish pigmentation mutations and the processes of neural crest development Development. 1996; 123:369-389 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar
- [7]7. Odenthal, J. ∙ Rossnagel, K. ∙ Haffter, P. ... Mutations affecting xanthophore pigmentation in the zebrafish, Danio rerio Development. 1996; 123:391-398 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar
- [8]8. Singh, A.P. ∙ Schach, U. ∙ Nüsslein-Volhard, C. Proliferation, dispersal and patterned aggregation of iridophores in the skin prefigure striped colouration of zebrafish Nat. Cell Biol. 2014; 16:604-611 Crossref Scopus (95) Google Scholar
- [9]9. McClure, M. Development and evolution of melanophore patterns in fishes of the genus Danio (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) J. Morphol. 1999; 241:83-105 Crossref Scopus (49) PubMed Google Scholar
- [10]10. Parichy, D.M. ∙ Johnson, S.L. Zebrafish hybrids suggest genetic mechanisms for pigment pattern diversification in Danio Dev. Genes Evol. 2001; 211:319-328 Crossref Scopus (81) PubMed Google Scholar
- [11]11. Svetic, V. ∙ Hollway, G.E. ∙ Elworthy, S. ... Sdf1a patterns zebrafish melanophores and links the somite and melanophore pattern defects in choker mutants Development. 2007; 134:1011-1022 Crossref Scopus (59) PubMed Google Scholar
- [12]12. Hirata, M. ∙ Nakamura, K. ∙ Kanemaru, T. ... Pigment cell organization in the hypodermis of zebrafish Dev. Dyn. 2003; 227:497-503 Crossref Scopus (142) PubMed Google Scholar
- [13]13. Hirata, M. ∙ Nakamura, K. ∙ Kondo, S. Pigment cell distributions in different tissues of the zebrafish, with special reference to the striped pigment pattern Dev. Dyn. 2005; 234:293-300 Crossref Scopus (111) PubMed Google Scholar
- [14]14. Mahalwar, P. ∙ Walderich, B. ∙ Singh, A.P. ... Local reorganization of xanthophores in light and dark stripes fine-tune and color the striped pattern in zebrafish Science. 2014; 345:1362-1364 Crossref Scopus (97) PubMed Google Scholar
- [15]15. Kottler, V.A. ∙ Fadeev, A. ∙ Weigel, D. ... Pigment pattern formation in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, involves the Kita and Csf1ra receptor tyrosine kinases Genetics. 2013; 194:631-646 Crossref Scopus (43) PubMed Google Scholar
- [16]16. Quigley, I.K. ∙ Manuel, J.L. ∙ Roberts, R.A. ... Evolutionary diversification of pigment pattern in Danio fishes: differential fms dependence and stripe loss in D. albolineatus Development. 2005; 132:89-104 Crossref Scopus (77) PubMed Google Scholar
- [17]17. Kelsh, R.N. ∙ Harris, M.L. ∙ Colanesi, S. ... Stripes and belly-spots – a review of pigment cell morphogenesis in vertebrates Semin. Cell Dev. Biol. 2009; 20:90-104 Crossref Scopus (157) PubMed Google Scholar
- [18]18. Geissler, E.N. ∙ Ryan, M.A. ∙ Housman, D.E. The dominant-white spotting (W) locus of the mouse encodes the c-kit proto-oncogene Cell. 1988; 55:185-192
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A crystal-clear zebrafish for in vivo imaging
Antinucci, P., & Hindges, R. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep29490 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
In situ differentiation of iridophore crystallotypes underlies zebrafish stripe patterning
Gur, D., Bain, E. J., Johnson, K. R., Aman, A. J., Pasolli, H. A., Flynn, J. D., Allen, M. C., Deheyn, D. D., Lee, J. C., Lippincott-Schwartz, J., et al. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20088-1 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
- Authors
- Singh, A. P., & Nüsslein-Volhard, C.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology (DE)
- ORCID
- Singh, Ajeet Pratap
- Venue
- Current Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-01
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- R81-R92
- ISSN
- 0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2056573049
- Cited by
- 217
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 8
- FWCI
- 2.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Keywords
- xanthophores, iridophores, melanophores, metamorphosis, cell surface molecules, signaling pathways, transgenic zebrafish, mutants
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Chromatophores, Morphogenesis, Pigmentation, Zebrafish, Body Patterning, Fish Proteins
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
