The dynamics of native Atoh7 protein expression during mouse retinal histogenesis, revealed with a new antibody

The Atoh7 transcription factor catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the specification of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). As a tool to study vertebrate retinal development, we validate an antibody that recognizes human and mouse Atoh7 polypeptide, using informative knockout and transgenic mouse tissues and overexpression experiments. The transient features of Atoh7 protein expression during retinal neurogenesis match the expected pattern at the tissue and cellular level. Further, we compare endogenous Atoh7 to established RGC markers, reporter mouse lines and cell cycle markers, demonstrating the utility of the antibody to investigate molecular mechanisms of retinal histogenesis.