Fig. 1.

Deletion of Mettl3 in epidermal progenitors leads to taste bud defects. a A schematic of basal progenitor cell differentiation. b METTL3 staining in circumvallate papillae from mice pups at P4. c H&E staining of taste buds (red arrow) in circumvallate papillae of P4 mice. d Staining and quantification of K8 + cells in circumvallate papillae (n = 8 biological replicates, P < 0.001 by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-test). e, f Expression of GNAT3 and SNAP25 and the indicated quantification (n = 8 biological replicates, P < 0.001 by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-test). g Detection of PGP9.5 in circumvallate papillae. Integrated density of PGP9.5 per trench profile (n = 8 biological replicates, P < 0.001 by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t-test). Dotted lines in b, d, e, f, and g indicate basal lamina. Scale bar: 20 μmol·L⁻¹