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Time-dependent pleiotropic phenotypes are caused by progressive DNA polymerase α deficiency in zebrafish

Lin, A. Y.-S.; Thomas, G. K.; Ang, K.; van Rossum, D. B.; Canfield, V. A.; Cheng, K. C.

2021-01-03 genetics
10.1101/2020.12.31.425001 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Pleiotropy caused by single-gene mutations is common and poorly understood. A zebrafish null mutant of DNA polymerase subunit B, huli hutu (hht), evolves a complex pleiotropy associated with DNA damage and S phase arrest across multiple organ systems over 5-7 days, including nuclear atypia, a common cellular feature in human cancers and pre-cancers, in gastrointestinal organs, and nuclear fragmentation in the eye and brain. The pleiotropic pattern of hht phenotypes is explained by progressive loss of wild-type maternal pola2 function in homozygous mutant embryos whose pola2 mRNA becomes undetectable by 24 hours post-fertilization (hpf). Inhibition of DNA synthesis by aphidicolin or hydroxyurea in wild-type embryos from 24 hpf phenocopied the pleiotropic pattern of hht. These results are consistent with a model in which time-sensitive, reduced capacity for DNA synthesis results in cell death in fast-replicating cells, and nuclear atypia in tissues with fewer and larger cells.

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