Figure 4. Transcriptional regulation of the rhodopsin kinase (Rk) and GFP in Rk-GFP transgenic line during development

Real-time RT-PCR was carried out with rhodopsin kinase (Rk; filled circles), green fluorescent protein (GFP; open circles), or rodopsin (Rho; squares) primers on 0.30 μg of ocular RNA template from GFP-positive embryos and mice of varying gestational age. For each developmental time point and RNA sample, ΔC_t was the difference between the gene of interest and actin in the number of cycles to reach exponential amplification threshold. R or percent (%) adult level values (which equals 100(2^-ΔΔCt)) were then estimated based on average differences in ΔC_ts between various time points (ΔΔC_t). R_avg is the average of R values from three amplifications and three separate reverse transcription reactions for each primer set and time point. Error bars represent the range of R values for each time point and primer set. The globes of at least 3 animals of identical gestational age were combined for RNA preparation. EOI means eye opening interval. Ad represents adult.