Corrigendum: High-throughput discovery of novel developmental phenotypes.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature19356.

Three-dimensional microCT imaging of mouse development from early post-implantation to early postnatal stages.

In this work, we report the use of iodine-contrast microCT to perform high-throughput 3D morphological analysis of mouse embryos and neonates between embryonic day 8.5 to postnatal day 3, with high spatial resolution up to 3µm/voxel. We show that mouse embryos at early stages can be imaged either within extra embryonic tissues such as the yolk sac or the decidua without physically disturbing the embryos. This method enables a full, undisturbed analysis of embryo turning, allantois development, vitelline vessels remodeling, yolk sac and early placenta development, which provides increased insights into early embryonic lethality in mutant lines. Moreover, these methods are inexpensive, simple to learn and do not require substantial processing time, making them ideal for high throughput analysis of mouse mutants with embryonic and early postnatal lethality.

High-throughput discovery of novel developmental phenotypes.

Approximately one-third of all mammalian genes are essential for life. Phenotypes resulting from knockouts of these genes in mice have provided tremendous insight into gene function and congenital disorders. As part of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium effort to generate and phenotypically characterize 5,000 knockout mouse lines, here we identify 410 lethal genes during the production of the first 1,751 unique gene knockouts. Using a standardized phenotyping platform that incorporates high-resolution 3D imaging, we identify phenotypes at multiple time points for previously uncharacterized genes and additional phenotypes for genes with previously reported mutant phenotypes. Unexpectedly, our analysis reveals that incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity are common even on a defined genetic background. In addition, we show that human disease genes are enriched for essential genes, thus providing a dataset that facilitates the prioritization and validation of mutations identified in clinical sequencing efforts.

RONIN Is an Essential Transcriptional Regulator of Genes Required for Mitochondrial Function in the Developing Retina.

A fundamental principle governing organ size and function is the fine balance between cell proliferation and cell differentiation. Here, we identify RONIN (THAP11) as a key transcriptional regulator of retinal progenitor cell (RPC) proliferation. RPC-specific loss of Ronin results in a phenotype strikingly similar to that resulting from the G1- to S-phase arrest and photoreceptor degeneration observed in the Cyclin D1 null mutants. However, we determined that, rather than regulating canonical cell-cycle genes, RONIN regulates a cohort of mitochondrial genes including components of the electron transport chain (ETC), which have been recently implicated as direct regulators of the cell cycle. Coincidentally, with premature cell-cycle exit, Ronin mutants exhibited deficient ETC activity, reduced ATP levels, and increased oxidative stress that we ascribe to specific loss of subunits within complexes I, III, and IV. These data implicate RONIN as a positive regulator of mitochondrial gene expression that coordinates mitochondrial activity and cell-cycle progression.

Macrophages engulf endothelial cell membrane particles preceding pupillary membrane capillary regression.

Programmed capillary regression and remodeling are essential developmental processes. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate vessel regression are only the beginning to be understood. Here, using in vivo, dynamic, confocal imaging of mouse transgenic reporters as well as static confocal and electron microscopy, we studied the embryonic development and postnatal regression of the transient mouse pupillary membrane (PM) vasculature. This approach allowed us to directly observe the precise temporal sequence of cellular events preceding and during the elimination of the PM from the mouse eye. Imaging of Tcf/Lef-H2B::GFP Wnt-reporter mice uncovered that, unlike the hyaloid vasculature of the posterior eye, a PM endothelial cell (EC) Wnt/ß-catenin response is unlikely to be part of the regression mechanism. Live imaging of EC and macrophage dynamics revealed highly active Csf1r-GFP+ macrophages making direct contact with the Flk1-myr::mCherry+ vessel surface and with membrane protrusions or filopodia extending from the ECs. Flk1-myr::mCherry+ EC membrane particles were observed on and around ECs as well as within macrophages. Electron microscopy studies confirmed that they were in phagosomes within macrophages, indicating that the macrophages engulfed the membrane particles. Interestingly, EC plasma membrane uptake by PM macrophages did not correlate with apoptosis and was found shortly after vessel formation at mid-gestation stages in the embryo; long before vessel regression begins during postnatal development. Additionally, genetic ablation of macrophages showed that EC membrane particles were still shed in the absence of macrophages suggesting that macrophages do not induce the formation or release of EC microparticles. These studies have uncovered a novel event during programmed capillary regression in which resident macrophages scavenge endothelial cell microparticles released from the PM vessels. This finding suggests that there may be an initial disruption in vessel homeostasis embryonically as the PM forms that may underlie its ultimate regression postnatally.