Ripply 1 Homolog (RIPPLY1)

RIPPLY1 contains a WRPW tetrapeptide near its N terminus and a conserved domain of about 50 amino acids found in other Ripply proteins. In zebrafish embryos, Ripply1 was expressed in the anterior presomitic mesoderm and in several newly formed somites. The expression pattern, highest in anterior presomitic mesoderm and gradually decreasing in a posterior-to-anterior direction in somites like a ripple, suggested the designation of this gene.The International Radiation Hybrid Mapping Consortium mapped the RIPPLY1 gene to chromosome X.Ripply1-deficient zebrafish embryos did not develop somite boundaries, characteristic gene expression in the presomitic mesoderm was not properly terminated, and the initially established rostrocaudal polarity in the segmental unit was not maintained.