Phylogeny of the teashirt-related zinc finger (tshz) gene family and analysis of the developmental expression of tshz2 and tshz3b in the zebrafish

Abstract

The tshz genes comprise a family of evolutionarily conserved transcription factors. However, despite the major role played by Drosophila tsh during the development of the fruit fly, the expression and function of other tshz genes have been analyzed in a very limited set of organisms and, therefore, our current knowledge of these genes is still fragmentary. In this study, we perform detailed phylogenetic analyses of the tshz genes, identify the members of this gene family in zebrafish and describe the developmental expressions of two of them, tshz2 and tshz3b, and compare them with meis1, meis2.1, meis2.2, pax6a, and pax6b expression patterns. The expression patterns of these genes define a complex set of coexpression domains in the developing zebrafish brain where their gene products have the potential to interact.