Molecular mechanisms of intermuscular bone development in fish: a review
Bo Li, 中国科学院昆明动物研究所洞穴鱼类发育与进化学科组，云南 昆明 650223，中国, Yuanwei Zhang, Xiao Liu, Li Ma, Junxing Yang, 首都师范大学生命科学学院，北京 100048, 中国, 中国科学院昆明动物研究所遗传资源与进化国家重点实验室，中国科学院种子创新研究院，云南 昆明 650223，中国, 中国科学院昆明动物研究所云南省高原鱼类育种重点实验室，云南省高原湖泊健康与修复工程研究中心，云南 昆明 650223，中国
Abstract
Intermuscular bones (IBs) are slender linear bones embedded in muscle, which ossify from tendons through a process of intramembranous ossification, and only exist in basal teleosts. IBs are essential for fish swimming, but they present a choking risk during human consumption, especially in children, which can lead to commercial risks that have a negative impact on the aquaculture of these fish. In this review, we discuss the morphogenesis and functions of IBs, including their underlying molecular mechanisms, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for IB studies and techniques for breeding and generating IB-free fish lines. This review reveals that the many key genes involved in tendon development, osteoblast differentiation, and bone formation, e.g., <i>scxa</i>, <i>msxC</i>, <i>sost</i>, <i>twist</i>, <i>bmps</i>, and <i>osterix</i>, also play roles in IB development. Thus, this paper provides useful information for the breeding of new fish strains without IBs via genome editing and artificial selection.