No Blood Vessels Without Cloche
The decade-long search by researchers worldwide for a gene, which is critical in controlling the formation of blood and blood vessels in the embryo, shows how fascinating science can be. It is more than 20 years since Didier Stainier, director at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, discovered a zebrafish mutant named cloche. This mutant lacks development of both blood vessels and blood cells, and was, until now, a unique phenomenon. Now, his research group has succeeded in finding the gene responsible for it. It had quasi hidden itself at the very end of chromosome 13 and was discovered using the latest molecular biological methods. The discovery of the gene is not only of scientific interest, but could also become important for regenerative medicine