FIGURE 5

CD44-mediated airineme extension contributes to zebrafish pigment pattern formation. (A) Unlike the control, melanophores failed to coalesce into stripes and remained in the interstripe zone (white arrowheads) at SSL11 (Parichy et al., 2009). The white dotted lines demarcate stripes and interstripe. (B) In embryos overexpressing cd44aTMICD simultaneously in both xanthophore-lineages and macrophages, the count of interstripe melanophores was significantly higher, (P < 0.0001, 20 embryos in total). (C) However, the total number of melanophores did not differ significantly between the experimental group and controls, (P = 0.4525, 20 embryos in total). (D) The number of xanthophores in the interstripe did not differ significantly between the experimental group and controls (P = 0.8266, 12 embryos total). Statistical significance was assessed using a Student’s t-test. Scale bars represent 200 µm. Error bars indicate mean ± SEM.