The zebrafish is a vertebrate model organism in which many aspects of development can be analyzed by a variety of powerful methods inclu­ding genetics. The skin and its structures such as scales and fins and the striped pigmentation pattern are responsible for the shape and appea­rance of the adult zebrafish. These are the structures that differ among species much more than the embryonic structures and distinguish even closely related fish species.
 
We are investigating the genetic basis for the formation of the adult structures that arise during juvenile develop­ment with the aim to understand the genetic basis of morphological va­riation in evolution. In a large scale mutagenesis experiment, we identified genes that specifically affect skull, scales, fins and the striped pigment pattern of adult fishes. Scales and fins arise during juvenile development from thi­ckenings in the dermis that form bony plates or rays. We cloned several scaleless mutants and found that in two cases they encode members of a common pathway, the EDA pathway that is required specifically du­ring juvenile development to form the adult structures.

Publications

Zebrafish Tools: Enhancer Trap Lines, Tilling library
Tübingen Zebrafish stock collection
Fish houses
Tübingen Drosophila stock collection
ZF-MODELS