Zebrafish zic2 controls formation of periocular neural crest and choroid fissure morphogenesis

RNA-seq transcriptome analysis identified an early requirement for zic2 in periocular neural crest as an activator of alx1, a transcription factor with essential roles in craniofacial and ocular morphogenesis in human and zebrafish Embryos derived from a zic2aGBT133/+; zic2bUW1127/+ incross were sorted by presence or absence of coloboma. RNA was prepared from each individual embryo at ~ 25 hpf