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Abstract
The anterior pituitary gland, or adenohypophysis (AH), represents the key component
of the vertebrate hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis, where it functions at the interphase
of the nervous and endocrine system to regulate basic body functions like growth,
metabolism and reproduction. For developmental biologists, the adenohypophysis serves
as an excellent model system for the studies of organogenesis and differential cell
fate specification. Previous research, mainly done in mouse, identified numerous extrinsic
signaling cues and intrinsic transcription factors that orchestrate the gland's developmental
progression. In the past years, the zebrafish has emerged as a powerful tool to elucidate
the genetic networks controlling vertebrate development, behavior and disease. Based
on mutants isolated in forward genetic screens and on gene knock-downs using morpholino
oligonucleotide (oligo) antisense technology, our current understanding of the molecular
machinery driving adenohypophyseal ontogeny could be considerably improved. In addition,
comparative analyses have shed further light onto the evolution of this rather recently
invented organ. The goal of this review is to summarize current knowledge of the genetic
and molecular control of zebrafish pituitary development, with special focus on most
recent findings, including some thus far unpublished data from our own laboratory
on the transcription factor Six1. In addition, zebrafish data will be discussed in
comparison with current understanding of adenohypophysis development in mouse.