A major goal of regenerative medicine is to instruct formation of multipotent, tissue-specific stem cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for cell replacement therapies. Generation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from iPSCs or embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is not currently possible, however, necessitating a better understanding of how HSCs normally arise during embryonic development. We previously showed that hematopoiesis occurs through four distinct waves during zebrafish development, with HSCs arising in the final wave in close association with the dorsal aorta. Recent reports have suggested that murine HSCs derive from hemogenic endothelial cells (ECs) lining the aortic floor1,2. Additional in vitro studies have similarly suggested that the hematopoietic progeny of ESCs arise through intermediates with endothelial potential3,4. In this report, we have utilized the unique strengths of the zebrafish embryo to image directly the birth of HSCs from the ventral wall of the dorsal aorta. Utilizing combinations of fluorescent reporter transgenes, confocal timelapse microscopy and flow cytometry, we have identified and isolated the stepwise intermediates as aortic hemogenic endothelium transitions to nascent HSCs. Finally, using a permanent lineage tracing strategy, we demonstrate that the HSCs generated from hemogenic endothelium are the lineal founders of the adult hematopoietic system.

Shifting sites of blood cell production during development is common across widely divergent phyla. In zebrafish, like other vertebrates, hematopoietic development has been roughly divided into two waves, termed primitive and definitive. Primitive hematopoiesis is characterized by the generation of embryonic erythrocytes in the intermediate cell mass and a distinct population of macrophages that arises from cephalic mesoderm. Based on previous gene expression studies, definitive hematopoiesis has been suggested to begin with the generation of presumptive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) along the dorsal aorta that express c-myb and runx1. Here we show, using a combination of gene expression analyses, prospective isolation approaches,transplantation, and in vivo lineage-tracing experiments, that definitive hematopoiesis initiates through committed erythromyeloid progenitors (EMPs) in the posterior blood island (PBI) that arise independently of HSCs. EMPs isolated by coexpression of fluorescent transgenes driven by the lmo2and gata1 promoters exhibit an immature, blastic morphology and express only erythroid and myeloid genes. Transplanted EMPs home to the PBI,show limited proliferative potential, and do not seed subsequent hematopoietic sites such as the thymus or pronephros. In vivo fate-mapping studies similarly demonstrate that EMPs possess only transient proliferative potential, with differentiated progeny remaining largely within caudal hematopoietic tissue. Additional fate mapping of mesodermal derivatives in mid-somitogenesis embryos suggests that EMPs are born directly in the PBI. These studies provide phenotypic and functional analyses of the first hematopoietic progenitors in the zebrafish embryo and demonstrate that definitive hematopoiesis proceeds through two distinct waves during embryonic development.

Joubert syndrome (JS) and related disorders are a group of autosomal-recessive conditions sharing the "molar tooth sign" on axial brain MRI, together with cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, ataxia, and psychomotor delay. JS is suggested to be a disorder of cilia function and is part of a spectrum of disorders involving retinal, renal, digital, oral, hepatic, and cerebral organs. We identified mutations in ARL13B in two families with the classical form of JS. ARL13B belongs to the Ras GTPase family, and in other species is required for ciliogenesis, body axis formation, and renal function. The encoded Arl13b protein was expressed in developing murine cerebellum and localized to the cilia in primary neurons. Overexpression of human wild-type but not patient mutant ARL13B rescued the Arl13b scorpion zebrafish mutant. Thus, ARL13B has an evolutionarily conserved role mediating cilia function in multiple organs.

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