Fig 1. kctd15 mutants show up-regulation of several NC gene markers.

foxd3 (A-C) and sox10 (D-F) expression is indistinguishable between WT and mutants very early in NC development, but by 3-4s, expression of these markers shows both an expansion and up-regulation in expression, which persists at 8-9s. Other NC markers, including dlx3b (G), sox9b (H), tfap2a (I) and snail1b (J) also show up-regulation and expansion in our mutants at 8-9s. Additionally, an increase in NC cell number is apparent at 24hpf in kctd15 mutants, as visualized in a sox10-GFP reporter construct (K).