Identification of the mafba gene as a novel driving factor for the development of nrl-independent rods.(A) Clustering analysis of the large MAF genes and the genes involved in photoreceptor development by using the expression data from scRNA-seq. The cell-type-specific expression pattern of mafba was highly similar to those of nrl and nr2e3. (B) The distribution of rods (labeled with EGFP) in the nrl-KO zebrafish carrying the WT, heterozygous, and homozygous mafba alleles at 9 dpf (left panel) and 15 dpf (right panel). Knocking out mafba further reduced the genesis of rods in the nrl-KO zebrafish. The dotted circles indicate the boundaries of the retinas. Scale bars: 100 μm. (C) The expression levels of nrl, nr2e3, and mafba in the nrl-KO retinas at 2 mpf and 5 mpf were measured via RNA-seq and qPCR. The data are shown as mean with SD (n = 3). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01.
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