Synergistic Regulation of Pigment Cell Precursors’ Differentiation and Migration by <i>ednrb1a</i> and <i>ednrb2</i> in Nile Tilapia
The evolutionary loss of <i>ednrb2</i> in specific vertebrate lineages, such as mammals and cypriniform fish, raises fundamental questions about its functional necessity and potential redundancy or synergy with paralogous endothelin receptors in pigment cell development. In teleosts poss...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Cells |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/14/15/1213 |
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| Summary: | The evolutionary loss of <i>ednrb2</i> in specific vertebrate lineages, such as mammals and cypriniform fish, raises fundamental questions about its functional necessity and potential redundancy or synergy with paralogous endothelin receptors in pigment cell development. In teleosts possessing both <i>ednrb1a</i> and <i>ednrb2</i> (e.g., Nile tilapia), their respective and combined roles in regulating neural crest-derived pigment cell precursors remains unresolved. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated single and double <i>ednrb</i> mutants to dissect their functions. We demonstrated that <i>ednrb1a</i> and <i>ednrb2</i> synergistically govern the differentiation and migration of iridophore precursors. While <i>ednrb1a</i> is broadly essential for iridophore development, <i>ednrb2</i> plays a unique and indispensable role in the colonization of iridophores in the dorsal iris. Double mutants exhibit near-complete iridophore loss; severe depletion of melanophores, xanthophores, and erythrophores; and a striking, fertile, transparent phenotype. Crucially, this iridophore deficiency does not impair systemic guanine synthesis pathways. mRNA rescue experiments confirmed <i>mitfa</i> as a key downstream effector within the Ednrb signaling cascade. This work resolves the synergistic regulation of pigment cell fates by Ednrb receptors and establishes a mechanism for generating transparent ermplasm. |
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| ISSN: | 2073-4409 |