The kidney is comprised of working units known as nephrons, which are epithelial tubules that contain a series of specialized cell types organized into a precise pattern of functionally distinct segment domains. There is a limited understanding of the genetic mechanisms that establish these discrete nephron cell types during renal development. The zebrafish embryonic kidney serves as a simplified yet conserved vertebrate model to delineate how nephron segments are patterned from renal progenitors. Here, we provide a concise review of recent advances in this emerging field, and discuss how continued research using zebrafish genetics can be applied to gain insights about nephrogenesis.
Keywords: aPKC; hnf1ba/b; kidney development; mecom; nephron segmentation; renal progenitor; sim1a; tubulogenesis; vertebrate; zebrafish.