Novel leiomodin 2b crispant zebrafish as a model for dilated cardiomyopathy

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is highly prevalent in live births and requires concise diagnoses and treatment plans. Although there is a vast amount of genetics research in the field of CHD, there are still knowledge gaps regarding the gene networks surrounding heart development. A literature review revealed that mutation in Leiomodin 2 is associated with dilated cardiomyopathy in humans. We selected lmod2b for further molecular analysis. In situ hybridization was conducted throughout zebrafish embryonic development to investigate the expression pattern of lmod2b . To further understand the function of lmod2b , CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing was conducted to look for cardiac abnormalities.