Cited by 23Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationZebrafish Biomedical Research ApplicationsGene Regulatory Network Analysis

Towards a gene regulatory network shaping the fins of the Princess cichlid

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Ahi, Ehsan Pashay, Sefc, Kristina M.·2018·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Variation in fin shape and size contributes to the outstanding morphological diversity of teleost fishes, but the regulation of fin growth has not yet been studied extensively outside the zebrafish model. A previous gene expression study addressing the ornamental elongations of unpaired fins in the African cichlid fish Neolamprologus brichardi identified three genes (cx43, mmp9 and sema3d) with strong and consistent expression differences between short and elongated fin regions. Remarkably, the expression patterns of these genes were not consistent with inferences on their regulatory interactions in zebrafish. Here, we identify a gene expression network (GRN) comprising cx43, mmp9, and possibly also sema3d by a stepwise approach of identifying co-expression modules and predicting their upstream regulators. Among the transcription factors (TFs) predicted as potential upstream regulators of 11 co-expressed genes, six TFs (foxc1, foxp1, foxd3, myc, egr2, irf8) showed expression patterns consistent with their cooperative transcriptional regulation of the gene network. Some of these TFs have already been implicated in teleost fish fin regeneration and formation. We particularly discuss the potential function of foxd3 as driver of the network and its role in the unexpected gene expression correlations observed in N. brichardi.

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  • In previous studies of East African cichlids, both foxd3 and foxp1 were found to act upstream of a gene network involved in exaggerated fin elongation.

    “In previous studies of East African cichlids, both foxd3 and foxp1 were found to act upstream of a gene network involved in exaggerated fin elongation (Pashay Ahi & Sefc 2018; Ahi et al. 2019).”

    From Parallel molecular mechanisms underlie convergent evolution of the exaggerated snout phenotype in East African cichlids (2022) · cites this paper as Pashay Ahi & Sefc 2018

    The Abstract and Results ('Prediction of upstream regulators') identify both foxd3 and foxp1 as potential upstream regulators of a gene network associated with elongated fins in N. brichardi. The paper predicts their roles from binding sites and expression patterns; the Discussion says functional studies are needed to confirm the mechanism. Thus, 'found to act upstream' overstates the evidence. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Ahi, E. P., & Sefc, K. M.
Affiliations
University of Graz (AT)
Corresponding author
Ahi, Ehsan Pashay
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2018-06-25
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
9602-9602
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2809079841
Cited by
23
References
84
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4
FWCI
0.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Unipub UB Graz (Universität Graz) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene Regulatory Network Analysis
Keywords
gene regulatory networks, fin shape, connexin 43, MMP-9, SEMA3D, transcription factors, FOXD3, gene co-expression modules, upstream regulators, fin regeneration
MeSH terms
Animals, Gene Expression Profiling, Cichlids, Fish Proteins, Gene Regulatory Networks, Animal Fins

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