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Fig. 6 Expression of aldh1a2 and cyp26a1 is independent of germ cell signaling.
Animals depleted of germ cells that develop into sterile males were generated by dead end (dnd) morpholino knockdown to study the expression of aldh1a2 and cyp26a1 in gonads at (A-C: n=1) bipotential stage (19dpf), (D–F: n=1) transitioning stage (25dpf), and (G-I: n=1) differentiated testes (37dpf). Results showed that aldh1a2 was widely expressed in somatic cells of the gonads at the three different stages analyzed (A,D,G) while cyp26a1 expression was detected in a subset of somatic cells also in the three stages analyzed (arrows in B, E, H). These results demonstrate that the onset as well as the maintenance of aldh1a2 and cyp26a1 expression, at least until 37dpf, is independent of germ cell signaling. Expression of the germ cell specific marker vasa was not detected at any stage (C,F,I), confirming the total depletion of germ cells by dnd morpholino injection in all animals. Gonads are outlined by a dashed line (B,C, E, F,H,I). Scale bar: 0.05 mm (A).