Fig. 4

Functional validation of alx4a and gbx2 in iridophore development. a Lateral view of WT and alx1KO, alx3 KO, alx4b KO fish. b Lateral view of alx4a CRISPR-mediated knockout fish. c Iridophore detection in 4 dpf larvae of WT and alx4a knockout larvae. White arrows mark iridophores in WT larvae. d Lateral views of 1 dpf larvae, 2 dpf larvae, and adult fish comparing WT to Tg(miniCoopR-alx4a) and Tg(miniCoopR-gbx2) fish. e Representative pictures and quantification of iridophores from 3 dpf larvae tail trunks of WT (n = 21), Tg(miniCoopR-alx4a) (n = 20), and Tg(miniCoopR-gbx2) (n = 20). P values were calculated with two-tailed Welch’s t-test. Error bars represent ± SE. f Lateral whole-body view of iridophore rescue in three mosaic tg(miniCoopR-alx4a;alx4aKO) fish. Black box denotes the zoomed region in picture below