Visualizing Multiciliated Cells in the Zebrafish Through a Combined Protocol of Whole Mount Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization and Immunofluorescence

In recent years, the zebrafish embryo has emerged as a popular model to study developmental biology due to traits such as ex utero embryo development and optical transparency. In particular, the zebrafish embryo has become an important organism to study vertebrate kidney organogenesis as well as multiciliated cell (MCC) development. To visualize MCCs in the embryonic zebrafish kidney, we have developed a combined protocol of whole-mount fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and whole mount immunofluorescence (IF) that enables high resolution imaging. This manuscript describes our technique for co-localizing RNA transcripts and protein as a tool to better understand the regulation of developmental programs through the expression of various lineage factors.