Figure 2

Loss of Mdka function does not affect neurogenic competence or increase cell death. (A) In situ hybridizations showing atoh7 expression in the retinas of uninjected (a-c), control (d-f) and Mdka loss-of-function embryos (g-i). Arrows in panels a, d and g identify the initial cluster of atoh7-expressing cells in ventral retina. MM, embryos injected with 5-nucleotide mismatch morpholinos; MO, embryos injected with mdka-targeted morpholinos; UI, uninjected. Scale bar equals 50μm. (B) Average number of acridine orange-stained cells in the retinas of control and experimental embryos showing that loss of Mdka does not increase cell death. P >0.05 for all pairwise comparisons. n=5 to 7 embryos/time point. Scale bar equals 50 μm.