Fig. 2

Fewer melanoblasts are specified in hdac1^col embryos. Lateral and dorsal (cranial region) views of 25 hpf embryos that are stained by in situ hybridization to reveal expression of mifta (A, B, G, H), c-kit (C, D, I, J) and dct (E, F). (A, B, G, H) There are fewer mitfa-positive melanoblasts specified in hdac1^col mutants as compared to wild type. (C, D) Melanoblast-specific c-kit expression in hdac1^col mutants is absent and/or reduced (arrowheads), although non-melanoblast expression of c-kit in the post anal region and posterior mesoderm is equivalent to wild-type (arrows). (I, J) Similarly, in the cranial region melanoblast-specific c-kit expression is reduced or absent, while c-kit expression in the branchial arches is more robust albeit disorganized in hdac1^col mutants as compared to wild-type (arrowheads). (E, F) There are fewer dct-positive differentiating melanoblasts in hdac1^col mutants compared to wild-type (arrowheads) and most of the dct-positive melanoblasts are located posterior to the otic vesicle in the dorsal stripe suggesting defects in migration. Also, there is a lack of dct-positive melanoblasts in the anterior head (arrow).