Fig. 6

Morpholino mediated knockdown of three SAR-overexpressed candidate genes. A-H Heart morphology of control larvae and injected with 2 and 4 ng gene-specific morpholino against pard6a, prom2, and atp1a1a.2 after 72 hpf. Red arrows indicate pericardial edema, yellow arrows indicate a failure in heart looping. I-J Percentage of morphological defects observed as a result of 2 and 4 ng of MO injections, showing dose-dependent effect. Scale bar: 50 μm. K Distribution of average heartbeat rate (in beats per minute, bpm) assayed in 72 hpf larvae as a result of knockdown with 2 ng or 4 ng of MO against pard6a, prom2, and atp1a1a.2. “*” indicates that the difference in heartbeat rate compared to that of control (uninjected) group was statistically significant. Table shows average heartbeat rate and Student’s T-tested p-value