Expression of nucleosome assembly protein 1 like genes in zebrafish embryos

Nucleosome assembly protein 1-like (Nap1l) family plays numerous biological roles including nucleosome assembly, transcriptional regulation, and cell cycle progression. However, the tissue specific in vivo functions of the Nap1l family members remain largely unknown. In this study, we finished the complete expression patterns of nap1l1 and nap1l4a in zebrafish embryos by whole-mount in situ hybridization. We observed maternal existence of nap1l1 transcript and that its zygotic expression is abundant and not spatially restricted at 6 somite stage, while nap1l4a mRNA is not detectable until 6 somite stage when it is weakly transcribed throughout the embryo. At 24 h post-fertilization (hpf), nap1l1 is predominantly expressed in the central nervous system, neural tube, ventral mesoderm, branchial arches, and pectoral fins, while nap1l4a mRNA is throughout the embryo, enriched in the eyes, tectum, and myotomes. As the embryo develops, nap1l1 expression maintains throughout the head, with gradually enriched in the tectum, olfactory vesicle, lens, optic cups, heart, branchial arches, pectoral fins, axial vasculature, pronephros, and lateral line neuromasts, whereas nap1l4a expression is weak in the tectum, branchial arches, and pectoral fins. Overall, these expression analyses provide a valuable basis for the functional study of nap1l family in zebrafish development.