Wtip is required for proepicardial organ specification and cardiac left/right asymmetry in zebrafish.

Wilm's tumor 1 interacting protein (Wtip) was identified as an interacting partner of Wilm's tumor protein (WT1) in a yeast two-hybrid screen. WT1 is expressed in the proepicardial organ (PE) of the heart, and mouse and zebrafish wt1 knockout models appear to lack the PE. Wtip's role in the heart remains unexplored.

Zebrafish tbx5 paralogs demonstrate independent essential requirements in cardiac and pectoral fin development.

Background: T-box genes constitute a large family of transcriptional regulators involved in developmental patterning. Homozygous mutation of tbx5 leads to embryonic lethal cardiac phenotypes and forelimb malformations in vertebrate models. Haploinsufficiency of tbx5 results in Holt-Oram syndrome, a human congenital disease characterized by cardiac and forelimb defects.