Research Article

Identification, Characterization, and Effects of Xenopus laevis PNAS-4 Gene on Embryonic Development

Figure 4

Heterologous expression of xPNAS-4 causes eye defects in zebrafish embryos. Embryos were injected at the one-cell stage with 300 pg or 600 pg of xPNAS-4 mRNA. Figures 4 ( a ) 4 ( f ) show embryos at 24 hours post fertilization (hpf). (a) Ventral view of a wild type zebrafish embryo with anterior to the bottom right. (b) Ventral view of a wild type zebrafish embryo with anterior to the top. (c) Lateral view of the normal axis of a wild type embryo. (d) Ventral view of a reduced-eye embryo. Arrow indicates the reduced eye. (e) Ventral view of a one-eyed embryo with anterior to the top. Arrow indicates the lost eye. (f) Lateral view of bent axis defects (arrow) of xPNAS-4 mRNA injected embryo. Figures 4 ( g ) 4 ( i ) show embryos at 48 hpf with anterior to the top. (g) Dorsal view of a wild type zebrafish embryo. (h) Dorsal view of an embryo with a reduced size eye. (i) Dorsal view of a one-eyed embryo. (j) Population of wild type zebrafish embryos at 48 hpf. (k) Population of zebrafish embryos with eye defects at 48 hpf. (l) Quantitative data for eye defects in injected and uninjected zebrafish embryos at 48 hpf. 𝑁 is the number of embryos examined for each treatment. (m) Whole-mount TUNEL staining of a wild type embryo at 24 hpf. (n) Whole-mount TUNEL staining of an embryo with an eye defect at 24 hpf. A high number of TUNEL-positive cells were detected on the side of injection (black arrow). Dotted circle indicates the developing eyes.
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