According to a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the eyes of zebrafish have a mosaic of light-sensitive cells whose structure and functions are nearly identical to those of humans. Biologists at the Florida State University discovered a gene mutation that determines if the cells develop as rods (the photoreceptors responsible for dim-light vision) or as cones (the photoreceptors needed for color vision). The study revealed that retinal development in zebrafish larvae and the genetic switch has identified that should shed new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying that development and, consequently, provide needed insight on inherited retinal diseases in humans.
From FSU’s Department of Biological Science and Program in Neuroscience, doctoral candidate Karen Alvarez-Delfin (first author of the PNAS paper), postdoctoral fellow Ann Morris (second author), and Associate Professor James M. Fadool are the first scientists to identify the crucial function of a previously known gene called “tbx2b.”
Fadool, faculty advisor to Alvarez-Delfin and principal investigator for Morris’s ongoing research, mentioned that their goal is to generate animal models of inherited diseases of the eye and retina to understand the progression of disease and find more effective treatments for blindness. He added that they are excited about the mutation that Karen has identified because it is one of the few mutations in this clinically critical pathway that is responsible for cells developing into one photoreceptor subtype rather than another.
