Kremen1 regulates the regenerative capacity of support cells and mechanosensory hair cells in the zebrafish lateral line.

Mechanosensory hair cells in the inner ear mediate the sensations of hearing and balance, and in the specialized lateral line sensory system of aquatic vertebrates, the sensation of water movement. In mammals, hair cells lack the ability to regenerate following damage, resulting in sensory deficits. In contrast, non-mammalian vertebrates, such as zebrafish, can renew hair cells throughout their lifespan.

The meiotic driver utilizes controlled protein aggregation to generate selective cell death.

Meiotic drivers are parasitic loci that force their own transmission into greater than half of the offspring of a heterozygote. Many drivers have been identified, but their molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. The gene is a meiotic driver in that uses a poison-antidote mechanism to selectively kill meiotic products (spores) that do not inherit .

Fbxw7 regulates Notch to control specification of neural precursors for oligodendrocyte fate.

Background: In the developing vertebrate nervous system elevated levels of Notch signaling activity can block neurogenesis and promote formation of glial cells. The mechanisms that limit Notch activity to balance formation of neurons and glia from neural precursors are poorly understood.

Results: By screening for mutations that disrupt oligodendrocyte development in zebrafish we found one allele, called vu56, that produced excess oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs).