Regulates Retina Development in Zebrafish

Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) are a group of genetic disorders characterized by the progressive degeneration of retinal cells, leading to irreversible vision loss. has emerged as a candidate gene associated with IRDs, yet its mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study aims to investigate the role of in retinal development and its associated molecular pathogenesis in zebrafish. Morpholino oligonucleotide knockdown, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, quantitative RT-PCR, eye morphometric measurements, immunofluorescent staining, TUNEL assays, visual motor responses, optokinetic responses, rescue experiments, and bulk RNA sequencing were used to assess the impact of deficiency on retinal development. Our results demonstrated that the knockdown of resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in eye axial length, ocular area, and eye-to-body-length ratio. The fluorescence observations showed a significant decrease in immunofluorescence signals from photoreceptors and in mCherry fluorescence from RPE in -silenced morphants. TUNEL staining uncovered the extensive apoptosis of retinal cells induced by slc4a7 knockdown. Visual behaviors were significantly impaired in the -deficient larvae. GO and KEGG pathway analyses reveal that differentially expressed genes are predominantly linked to aspects of vision, ion channels, and phototransduction. This study demonstrates that the loss of in larvae led to profound visual impairments, providing additional insights into the genetic mechanisms predisposing individuals to IRDs caused by deficiency.