Fig. 2

Zebrafish embryos displayed NTDs after knockdown of Sox19b. a Western blot confirmed that Sox19b MO could interfere Sox19b mRNA translation. b The neural tube development of zebrafish embryos was abnormal after injection with a Sox19b MO at 48 hpf. There were two main results. The mild phenotype consisted of a smaller head and shorter body axis. The severe phenotype had a partial head area deletion, microphthalmos, shorter body axis, and tail turned up. Bar graphs show the statistical data for the embryo numbers. Data represent the mean of at least three independent experiments ± SD. **P < 0.01 versus control. c The zebrafish embryos developed to 24 hpf and 30 hpf, and the embryos injected with Sox19b MO showed that the area of the telencephalon and diencephalon decreased significantly compared with controls. The bar graphs show the percentage of normal embryos in each group. Data represent the mean of at least three independent experiments ± SD. **P < 0.01 versus control. d Whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis of neuroectoderm marker expression at 24 hpf. The expression of otx2 and pax2a were decreased in the Sox19b MO group compared with what was observed in the controls. Bar graphs show the percentage of normal embryos in each group. Data represent the mean of at least three independent experiments ± SD. *P < 0.05 versus control