Figure 7. Measurement of head, otic vesicle, and body size in affected zebrafish embryos.

(A) Microscopic images and (B) size measurements of the head (distance between the eyes), otic vesicle, and body trunk (distance between 5 tail somites) of 3-dpf embryos injected with the 4 causative gene MO: xpo1a, rel, bcl11aa, and bcl11ab. Microcephaly was observed for 3 gene morphants compared with those of controls (xpo1a, rel, and bcl11ab). Otic vesicle size was severely reduced for rel, moderately reduced for bcl11aa and bcl11ab, and comparable to that of controls for xpo1a knockdowns. The body trunk was fully dysmorphic and curled for xpo1a and rel morphants, while measurement for bcl11aa and bcl11ab morphant embryos was possible. Smaller eyes and fins for all genes were noted. Original magnification, ×115. (B) Measurements for both –p53 and +p53 MO injections were normalized to the sizes obtained in controls, and the ratios were plotted. Data represent the mean ± SD of 3 independent injections. n = 50 embryos per gene per injection. ***P < 0.0001 and NS = P > 0.01, by 2-tailed Student’s t test for significance of differences in measured sizes between each gene morphant and controls. MO, morpholino(s).