Expression of a homeobox gene product in normal and mutant zebrafish embryos: evolution of the tetrapod body plan

An antibody was used to detect antigens in zebrafish that appear to be homologous to the frog homeodomain-containing protein XlHbox 1. These antigens show a restricted expression in the anteroposterior axis and an anteroposterior gradient in the pectoral fin bud, consistent with the distribution of XlHbox 1 protein in frog and mouse embryos. In the somitic mesoderm, a sharp anterior limit of expression coincides exactly with the boundary between somites 4 and 5, and the protein level fades out posteriorly. A similar, graded expression of the antigen is seen within the series of Rohon-Beard sensory neurons of the CNS. We also immunostained the mutant spt-1 (‘spadetail’), in which the trunk mesoderm is greatly depleted and disorganized in the region of XlHbox 1 expression. The defects stem from misdirected cell movements during gastrulation, but nervertheless, newly recruited cells that partially refill the trunk mesoderm express the antigen within the normal span of the anteroposterior axis. This finding suggests that the mutation does not delete positional information required for activation of the XlHbox 1 gene.