Characteristics of Family Genes in Zebrafish.

represents a type of single-transmembrane adaptor protein containing an N-terminal cysteine-rich domain and a proline-rich C-terminal region. Nine subfamily genes have been proposed in most vertebrates; however, some might be species-specific. The number of genes present in zebrafish remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the evolutionary relationships among family genes in zebrafish (TU strain) using phylogenetic and syntenic analyses. The function of was preliminarily examined via CRISPR/Cas13d-mediated knockdown. Following identification in zebrafish, 10 family genes, namely , , , , , , , , , and , were classified into three main clades and six subclades. Their encoding proteins contained a cysteine-rich N-terminal domain and a proline-rich C-terminal region containing different motifs. A specific syntenic block containing and was observed to be conserved across all species. Furthermore, all these genes were expressed during embryogenesis. was expressed in the presomitic mesoderm, somites, and so on. was identified as a regulator of the expression of the somite formation marker . Overall, our study provides new insights into the evolution of family genes and the control of over the convergent extension cells of somitic precursors in zebrafish.