Expression data from whole mouse retina comparing acute Nrl knockout and control

Nrl acts as a molecular toggle switch during retinal development: if a photoreceptor precursor turns on Nrl, it differentiates as a rod, otherwise it differentiates as a cone. In contrast, acute Nrl knockout transforms mature rods into cells with features intermediate between those of normal rods and cones (‘cods’). We used microarray to comprehensively evaluate the transcriptomic changes that occur upon acute knockout of Nrl in mouse retina. Control (Nrlflox/+; CAG-CreERTM), and experimental (Nrlflox/flox; CAG-CreERTM) mice were injected intraperitoneally on a daily basis from P42 to P44 with 4-hydroxytamoxifen to induce recombination of the Nrlflox alleles. RNA was then isolated from two biological replicates (each consisting of total RNA from four retinas) per genotype.