Effect of mdka knock-down on notochord cell number. Notochord cells were counted in defined regions of the medial trunk (with respect to somite positions) of ten control embryos (a) and ten embryos injected with 9ng mdka morpholino (b). A highly significant increase in cell number was observed in morpholino injected embryos (Mann-Whitney U-test, n = 10, p < 0.001, Z = 3.711). Notochord cells were visualized by col2a1 expression and nuclear regions devoid of in-situ staining were marked (in red). For manual counting of notochord cells in whole mount preparations, one focal plane (focused on the MFP) was analyzed.
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