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LIM Homeobox 9 knockdown by morpholino does not affect zebrafish retinal development.
Rui Guo1,2, Fei Li1, Minxia Lu1
1Key Laboratory of Organ Development and Regeneration of Zhejiang Province, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311100 Zhejiang, China.
Biology Open
|February 13, 2021
Summary
LIM homeobox 9 (Lhx9) is expressed in developing zebrafish organs, including the retina. Knockdown experiments revealed that Lhx9 does not impact zebrafish retinal development or function.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- LIM homeobox 9 (Lhx9) is a transcription factor crucial for various vertebrate tissues.
- Previous research on Lhx9 in zebrafish primarily focused on brain development.
- The role of Lhx9 during embryogenesis, particularly in retinal development, remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression pattern of Lhx9 during zebrafish embryogenesis.
- To determine the function of Lhx9 in zebrafish retinal development.
Main Methods:
- Whole-mount in situ hybridization was used to detect Lhx9 expression patterns.
- Morpholino (MO) knockdown was employed to assess Lhx9 function in retinal development.
Main Results:
- Lhx9 expression was identified in the developing heart, pectoral fin, and retina of zebrafish embryos.
- Lhx9 knockdown did not result in observable defects in eye development, retinal neurogenesis, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, or light response.
- These findings indicate that Lhx9 is not essential for normal zebrafish retinal development.
Conclusions:
- This study elucidates the expression profile of Lhx9 during zebrafish embryogenesis.
- Lhx9 does not play a critical role in zebrafish retinal development, challenging previous assumptions based on its known functions in other tissues.
