Published 2 September 2003. doi:10.1083/jcb.200303168
© The Rockefeller University Press,
0021-9525/2003/9/919 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 162, Number 5, 919-932
Knockdown of the survival motor neuron (Smn) protein in zebrafish causes defects in motor axon outgrowth and pathfinding
Michelle L. McWhorter1,2,
Umrao R. Monani3,
Arthur H.M. Burghes2,3,4,5 and
Christine E. Beattie1,2,6
1 Center for Molecular Neurobiology, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program
2 Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program
3 Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
4 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
5 Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
6 Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
Address correspondence to Christine E. Beattie, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, The Ohio State University, 115 Rightmire Hall, 1060 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210. Tel.: (614) 292-5113. Fax: (614) 292-5379. email: beattie.24{at}osu.edu
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a loss of
motoneurons in the spinal cord. SMA is caused by low levels of the ubiquitously expressed survival motor neuron (Smn) protein. As it is unclear how low levels of Smn specifically affect motoneurons, we have modeled SMA in zebrafish, a vertebrate model organism with well-characterized motoneuron development. Using antisense morpholinos to reduce Smn levels throughout the entire embryo, we found motor axonspecific pathfinding defects. Reduction of Smn in individual motoneurons revealed that smn is acting cell autonomously. These results show for the first time, in vivo, that Smn functions in motor axon development and suggest that these early developmental defects may lead to subsequent motoneuron loss.
Key Words: SMA; SMN; motoneurons; zebrafish; morpholino
The online version of this article includes supplemental material.
Abbreviations used in this paper: AChR, acetylcholine receptor; CaP, caudal primary; MO, morpholino oligonucleotide; SMA, spinal muscular atrophy; SMN, survival motor neuron; VeLD, ventral longitudinal descending.

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