Transcriptome analysis of E15.5 wild-type (Tbr2-f/+) andTbr2-Isl1/+ retinae

Isl1 encodes a member of the LIM/homeodomain family of transcription factors. During retinal development. Isl1 plays a critical role in RGC fate specification. Tbr2 is essential for the formation and maintaining the survival of ipRGCs. In this study, we tested whether ectopically expressing Isl1 in Tbr2-expressing cells affects the developmental program of Tbr2-expressing retinal neurons, including ipRGCs and a subset of wide-field displaced amacrine cells. We generated a Tbr2-Isl1 knock-in allele using gene targeting technique, and then used RNA-seq approach to compare transcriptome profiles between E15.5 wild-type (Tbr2-flox/+) and Tbr2-Isl1/+ retinas to uncover how Isl1 affects Tbr2-regulated genes. Overall design: Retinal mRNA profiles of E15.5 wild-type (Tbr2fx) and Isl1 knockin (T2Isl1) retinas were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina.