Fig. 7. Larval and adult eye defects in bel mutants.
(A,B) Toluidine Blue stained sections from 5 dpf wild type (A)
and bel mutants (B). In bel mutants there is a gap between
the PE and lens (arrows), and an abnormal acellular mass is often present
(arrowhead). (Inset) In a different embryo, an acellular aggregate was labeled
with the ZL-1 antibody, indicating it contains lens proteins (arrowhead).
(C,D) At 4 dpf, bel mutants (D) lack most amacrine
cells, as determined by apoE in situ labeling (arrowhead). A few
cells remain in the ventral retina. (E,F) Eyes of surviving
bel adults (F) are much smaller than those of wild type (E) due to
the lack of a posterior compartment (asterisk). Retinal layers are folded back
on one another (arrowhead). Insets show lateral views of whole eyes. (F, left
inset) In some adults, vascularized retinal tissue extends out of the eye. L,
lens; pe, pigmented epithelium.