Meeting Abstract
The zebrafish (Danio rerio) remains the teleost fish of choice for biological investigations due to the plethora of molecular tools available for use in this system. However, its somatic growth is not representative of other teleost fishes, most of which are able to grow throughout their lives (termed indeterminate growth) while the zebrafish possesses a rather limited growth potential (determinate growth). In vertebrate skeletal muscle, growth is largely regulated by protein turnover, with the balance between protein synthesis and degradation governing whether myofibers hypertrophy or atrophy. To better describe the potentially divergent mechanisms of skeletal muscle atrophy in this species, we developed a primary myotube culture system generated from isolated myogenic precursor cells (MPCs) from adult zebrafish. Using a media devoid of serum and amino acids, we induced the expression of many genes associated with autophagy. Interestingly, paired-box transcription factor (Pax3/7) expression increased concurrently with myocyte enhancing factor-2ca (Mef2c) upregulation when de novo myotubes were subjected to starvation. From these results, it suggests that zebrafish myotubes, cultured from primary myoblasts, can be induced to express early myogenic biomarkers using nutrient alterations.
