Fig. 6

gata4 is required for the development of the neural crest derivatives in zebrafish. a The qRT-PCR analysis showed that gata4 MO knocked down gata4 efficiently (n = 5). b At 72 hpf, zebrafish larvae were imaged with transmitted light. Control embryos and gata4 MO embryos were injected with a standard control MO and gata4 MO, respectively. The gata4 MO embryos showed a shorter body length, mandibular deficiency (black dotted line and blue arrow), edema around the heart (red dotted line and black arrow) and regression of the yolk stalk extension (red arrow). c Alcian blue staining revealed a defective mandibular arch compared with controls. The dotted line represents the length of mandible. d Quantitative analysis of the length of mandibular arch (n = 5). e At 72 hpf, the distribution and amount of iridophores were reduced in gata4 morphants. f, g Quantitative analysis of the number of iridophores in the eyes and the body (n = 5). h At 96 hpf, the distribution and amount of iridophores were reduced in gata4 MO embryos. i, j Quantitative analysis of the number of iridophores in the eyes and the body (n = 5). The data are presented as the mean ± S.E.M. from at least three independent experiments. ^**P < 0.01. hpf hours post-fertilization, MO morpholino, NCC neural crest cell, qRT-PCR quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction