Zebrafish Is Necessary for Normal Development and Macrophage Migration.

Heme oxygenase function is highly conserved between vertebrates where it plays important roles in normal embryonic development and controls oxidative stress. Expression of the zebrafish heme oxygenase 1 genes is known to be responsive to oxidative stress suggesting a conserved physiological function. In this study, we generate a knockout allele of zebrafish and characterize the effects of and loss on embryonic development. We find that loss of or causes developmental defects in only a minority of embryos, in contrast to gene deletions in mice that cause loss of most embryos. Using a tail wound inflammation assay we find a conserved role for , but not , in normal macrophage migration to the wound site. Together our results indicate that zebrafish has clearly a partitioned role from that is more consistent with conserved functions of mammalian Heme oxygenase 1.