Identification and mapping of a mouse gene influencing cerebellar folial pattern

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(90)90495-W

Brain Research

Volume 524, Issue 1, 30 July 1990, Pages 85-89

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(90)90495-W Get rights and content

Abstract

Little is known about the role of inheritance in the pattern of cerebral cortical folding, or the causes of individual variation. Inouye and Oda (J. Comp. Neurol., 190 (1980) 357–362) found that the cerebellar folial pattern varies markedly between inbred strains of mice and between individuals in a closed (non-inbred) colony, but shows little variation between individuals within a given inbred strain. They concluded that strain-specific variation in cerebellar folial pattern is under genetic control. In the present study, the folial pattern was examined in crosses between the C57BL/6J and DBA/2J inbred strains of mice, which differ in the presence or a single cerebellar fissure, and in recombinant inbred strains derived from a cross between the same strains. We found that variation is discrete, that neither phenotype is dominant, and that the strain difference is due predominantly to allelic differences at a single locus (Cfp-1) on chromosome 4. Incomplete penetrance of the simpler pattern suggests that this genetic locus interacts in a probabilistic manner with epigenetic mechanisms involved in morphogenesis of the cerebellum.

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This review presents the gross anatomy, lobular organization, and histology of the cerebellum, and the authors summarize the distinctive features of the C57BL/6J cerebellum compared to that of other mouse strains. For example, when compared with the DBA/2T mouse, the C57BL/6J lacks an interculminate fissure, which results in incomplete separation of lobules 4 and 5, and, in addition, the boundary between lobules 1 and 2 is difficult to define (Neumann et al., 1990; Neumann et al., 1993). The proposed protocol for the segmentation of the cerebellum aims to support a consistent approach to quantitative studies of regional volumes in the cerebellum.
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This chapter explains the external gross anatomy of cerebellum. It explains the pattern of cerebellar lobules and folial pattern in cerebellum. The gross external anatomy of the murine cerebellum is typical of most mammals. The cerebellum consists of a series of median vermal lobules and prominent lateral extensions called hemispheres. The cerebellum forms the roof of the fourth ventricle; the superior medullary velum of the cerebellum forms the rostral part of the roof, and the caudal half of the cerebellum overhangs the ependymal roof and choroid plexus of the caudal half of the fourth ventricle. The cerebellum is attached to the brain stem by the three pairs of cerebellar peduncles. The peduncles are large fiber bundles, which carry the cerebellar efferent and afferent tracts. Three major afferent systems carry inputs to the cerebellar cortex. The climbing fibers, which originate from the contralateral inferior olivary nucleus of the medulla oblongata, synapse within the proximal dendrites of Purkinje cells. The second major afferent system, the mossy fibers, originates from many sites including the spinal cord, the brain stem and the pons. A single mossy fiber may influence hundreds of Purkinje cells, while relatively few Purkinje cells are stimulated by input from a single climbing fiber. The third major afferent system consists of fibers that originate from various regions of the brain including the locus coeruleus and raphe nucleus. These thin fibers are morphologically distinct from the climbing and mossy fibers and terminate within all layers of the cerebellar cortex and also within the cerebellar nuclei.
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This chapter explains the external gross anatomy of cerebellum. It explains the pattern of cerebellar lobules and folial pattern in cerebellum. The gross external anatomy of the murine cerebellum is typical of most mammals. The cerebellum consists of a series of median vermal lobules and prominent lateral extensions called hemispheres. The cerebellum forms the roof of the fourth ventricle; the superior medullary velum of the cerebellum forms the rostral part of the roof, and the caudal half of the cerebellum overhangs the ependymal roof and choroid plexus of the caudal half of the fourth ventricle. The cerebellum is attached to the brain stem by the three pairs of cerebellar peduncles. The peduncles are large fiber bundles, which carry the cerebellar efferent and afferent tracts. Three major afferent systems carry inputs to the cerebellar cortex. The climbing fibers, which originate from the contralateral inferior olivary nucleus of the medulla oblongata, synapse within the proximal dendrites of Purkinje cells. The second major afferent system, the mossy fibers, originates from many sites including the spinal cord, the brain stem and the pons. A single mossy fiber may influence hundreds of Purkinje cells, while relatively few Purkinje cells are stimulated by input from a single climbing fiber. The third major afferent system consists of fibers that originate from various regions of the brain including the locus coeruleus and raphe nucleus. These thin fibers are morphologically distinct from the climbing and mossy fibers and terminate within all layers of the cerebellar cortex and also within the cerebellar nuclei.
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The characteristic folial pattern of the mouse cerebellum is formed during postnatal development. We observed this process in C57BL/6J (B6) mice in detail, and found an abnormal folial pattern in a specific region (lobules VIII and IX of the vermis) in a substantial number of B6 mice. The frequency of this abnormality increased during postnatal development and reached 55% in the adult. Thus, the present study showed an abnormality in the cerebellar folial pattern of B6 mice, a mouse widely used in knockout studies, and called for caution in the phenotypic analysis of knockout mice of the B6 genetic background.

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Identification and mapping of a mouse gene influencing cerebellar folial pattern

Abstract

Differentiation

Brain Res. Rev.

Brain Research

Neuroscience

Brain Research

Experimental reorganization of the cerebellar cortex: I. Morphological effects of elimination of all microneurons with prolonged x-irradiation started at birth

J. Comp. Neurol.

A comparison of genetic and environmental principal components of morphogenesis in mice

Growth

Recombinant inbred strains and bilineal congenic strains

Genes that affect the shape of the murine mandible: congenic strain analysis

J. Hered.

Genes that effect the shape of the murine mandible: recombinant-inbred strain analysis

J. Hered.

Mandibular-morphogenesis gene linked to the H-2 complex in mice

J. Craniofac. Genet. Dev. Biol.

The Isocortex of Man

An experimental analysis of some factors involved in the development of the fissure pattern of the cerebral cortex

J. Exp. Zool.

Chromosomal mapping of the mink cell focus-inducing and xenotropic env gene family in the mouse

Human Neuroanatomy