Chd7 plays an essential role in retinal development.

<p>Retinal organization of control-MO embryos (<b>A</b>) and <i>chd7</i> morphants (<b>B</b>) was revealed by toludiene blue staining. Compared with the highly organized cells and laminated retinal structure in control-MO fish, <i>chd7</i>-MO retinal cells are disorganized (<b>A–B</b>: <i>Left panels</i>). Retinal lamination defect, including rosette formation,is clearly visible in the <i>chd7</i> morphants (examples of rosettes are indicated by dotted lines and arrow heads). GL, ganglion cell layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; L, lens; ONL, outer nuclear layer; R, retina; RPE, retinal pigment epithelium. Scale bar: 50 µm. Zn-8 immunoreactivity was performed to label (brown) retinal gangion cells in control-MO (<b>C</b>) and <i>chd7</i>-MO embryos (<b>D</b>). Scale bar: 30 µm. The expression of retinal ganglion cell-specific marker zn-8 is greatly reduced in <i>chd7</i> morphants. The photoreceptor layer of control-MO (<b>E</b>) and <i>chd7</i>-MO-injected (<b>F</b>) embryos were stained with 3A10. Chd7 morphants lacked the photoreceptor layer. Scale bar: 5 µm.