Embryonic expression patterns of TBC1D10 subfamily genes in zebrafish

Abstract TBC1D10 subfamily has three members TBC1D10A-C, with the physiological and pathological functions such as melanosome transport, exosome secretion, and T-cell activation. However, the gene expression patterns and functions of this subfamily during embryonic development remain mysterious. In this study, we took advantage of zebrafish model to elucidate the spatial and temporal expression patterns of TBC1D10 subfamily genes including tbc1d10aa, tbc1d10ab, tbc1d10b, and tbc1d10c. Whole-mount in situ hybridization results showed robust tbc1d10aa expression and faint tbc1d10b expression as maternal transcripts except tbc1d10ab and tbc1d10c. In addition to pectoral fins, otic vesicles, and pharyngeal arch tissues, varying degrees of expression of all four subfamily members were observed in brain tissues and eyes (retinal inner nuclear layer). Besides, tbc1d10ab exhibited unique and enriched expression in the developing liver. Despite genetic conservativeness, all four members of zebrafish TBC1D10 subfamily shared several similarities and exhibited some distinctions in the expression patterns, indicating that they might have different and exclusive functions to be further explored.