phospholipase C gamma-1 is required downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor during arterial development

In this study, we utilize transgenic zebrafish with fluorescently labeled blood vessels to identify and characterize a mutant (y10) that displays specific defects in the formation of arteries, but not veins. We find that y10 encodes phospholipase C gamma-1 (plcg1), a known effector of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. We further show that plcg1y10 mutant embryos fail to respond to exogenous Vegf. Our results indicate that Plcg1 functions specifically downstream of the Vegf receptor during embryonic development to govern formation of the arterial system.