Expression profiles of zebrafish transgenic line Tg(fabp10a:def)-I. Danio rerio

We previously reported that Def (Digestive-organ expansion factor) was a pan-endodermal enriched factor that is essential for the growth of digestive organs in zebrafish using a def mutant line hi429 as model (Chen et al., 2005). To further elucidate Def function, we generated a Def over-expressed zebrafish line, namely Tg (fabp10a:def)-I, in which def expression was under the control of a liver-specific promoter fabp10a. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression in Tg (fabp10a:def)-I transgenic line compared with wild type zebrafish control, and identified distinct classes of differently regulated genes in Tg (fabp10a:def)-I line. Overall design: Total RNA from the adult livers of three independent batches of 3-month-old Tg(fabp10a:def)-I and wild type (AB strain) male fish was extracted using TRIzol (Invitrogen), each batch with the liver samples from three fish mixed together. The samples were subjected to microarray hybridization and the data were generated for further analysis.