FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1

Knockdown of Kif15 with splicing-blocking method inhibits the normal formation of vestibular. (A,B) The protein level of Kif15 is severely decreased in Kif15-morpholino (MO)-injected embryos both in the band intensity (A) and in the semiquantitative analysis (B), in comparison with control embryos. Data are recorded as mean ± SEM. **p < 0.01. (C–H) Kif15-MO suppresses the normal development of semicircular canals. The abnormal manifestations are observed at 48 hpf (C,F), 72 hpf (D,G), and 96 hpf (E,H), respectively. ap, anterior protrusion; ab, anterior bulge; vb, ventral bulge; vp, ventral protrusion; pb, posterior bulge; pp, posterior protrusion; u, utricle; and s, saccule. Red arrowheads show the abnormal fusion of anterior and posterior protrusions. (I–K) Co-injection using Kif15-MO and Kif15 mRNA successfully rescues the phenotypes of semicircular canals and otoliths at 48 hpf (I), 72 hpf (J), and 96 hpf (K), respectively. Scale bar is 20 μm.