Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology
Research Article

The role of thyroid hormone in zebrafish and axolotl development

Donald D. Brown
PNAS November 25, 1997 94 (24) 13011-13016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.24.13011
Donald D. Brown
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  1. Contributed by Donald D. Brown

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Exogenous thyroid hormone (TH) induces premature differentiation of the zebrafish pectoral fins, which are analogous to the forelimbs of tetrapods. It accelerates the growth of the pelvic fins but not precociously. Goitrogens, which are chemical inhibitors of TH synthesis by the thyroid gland, inhibit the transition from larva to juvenile fish including the formation of scales, and pigment pattern; they stunt the growth of both pectoral and pelvic paired fins. Inhibition by goitrogens is rescued by the simultaneous addition of thyroxine. The effect of adding TH to the rearing water of the postembryonic Mexican axolotl was reinvestigated under conditions that permit continued growth and development. In addition to morphological changes that have been described, TH greatly stimulates axolotl limb growth causing the resulting larva to be proportioned as an adult in about two months. This study extends the known evolutionary relatedness of tetrapod limbs and fish fins to include the TH stimulation of salamander limb and zebrafish fin growth, and suggests that TH is required to complete the life cycle of a typical bony fish and a salamander at the same developmental stage that it controls anuran and flounder metamorphosis.

Footnotes

    • ABBREVIATIONS

      TH,
      thyroid hormone;
      T4,
      thyroxine;
      T3,
      3,5,3′-l-triiodothyronine;
      TU,
      thiourea
      • Accepted September 25, 1997.
      • Copyright © 1997, The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
      View Full Text
      PreviousNext
      Back to top
      Article Alerts
      Email Article

      Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

      NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

      Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
      The role of thyroid hormone in zebrafish and axolotl development
      (Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
      (Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
      CAPTCHA
      This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
      Citation Tools
      The role of thyroid hormone in zebrafish and axolotl development
      Donald D. Brown
      Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 1997, 94 (24) 13011-13016; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.24.13011

      Citation Manager Formats

      • BibTeX
      • Bookends
      • EasyBib
      • EndNote (tagged)
      • EndNote 8 (xml)
      • Medlars
      • Mendeley
      • Papers
      • RefWorks Tagged
      • Ref Manager
      • RIS
      • Zotero
      Request Permissions
      Share
      The role of thyroid hormone in zebrafish and axolotl development
      Donald D. Brown
      Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 1997, 94 (24) 13011-13016; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.24.13011
      Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
      • Tweet Widget
      • Facebook Like
      • Mendeley logo Mendeley
      Table of Contents

      Submit

      Sign up for Article Alerts

      Jump to section

      • Article
        • Abstract
        • MATERIALS AND METHODS
        • RESULTS
        • DISCUSSION
        • Acknowledgments
        • ABBREVIATIONS
        • References
      • Figures & SI
      • Info & Metrics
      • PDF

      You May Also be Interested in

      Surgeons hands during surgery
      Inner Workings: Advances in infectious disease treatment promise to expand the pool of donor organs
      Despite myriad challenges, clinicians see room for progress.
      Image credit: Shutterstock/David Tadevosian.
      Setting sun over a sun-baked dirt landscape
      Core Concept: Popular integrated assessment climate policy models have key caveats
      Better explicating the strengths and shortcomings of these models will help refine projections and improve transparency in the years ahead.
      Image credit: Witsawat.S.
      Double helix
      Journal Club: Noncoding DNA shown to underlie function, cause limb malformations
      Using CRISPR, researchers showed that a region some used to label “junk DNA” has a major role in a rare genetic disorder.
      Image credit: Nathan Devery.
      Steamboat Geyser eruption.
      Eruption of Steamboat Geyser
      Mara Reed and Michael Manga explore why Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser resumed erupting in 2018.
      Listen
      Past PodcastsSubscribe
      Multi-color molecular model
      Enzymatic breakdown of PET plastic
      A study demonstrates how two enzymes—MHETase and PETase—work synergistically to depolymerize the plastic pollutant PET.
      Image credit: Aaron McGeehan (artist).

      Similar Articles

      Site Logo
      Powered by HighWire
      • Submit Manuscript
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • RSS Feeds
      • Email Alerts

      Articles

      • Current Issue
      • Special Feature Articles – Most Recent
      • List of Issues

      PNAS Portals

      • Anthropology
      • Chemistry
      • Classics
      • Front Matter
      • Physics
      • Sustainability Science
      • Teaching Resources

      Information

      • Authors
      • Editorial Board
      • Reviewers
      • Librarians
      • Press
      • Site Map
      • PNAS Updates

      Feedback    Privacy/Legal

      Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490