Fused or bunched denticle belts. Mesoderm phenotypes as for zfh12. Somatic musculature shows variable patterning and insertion site positioning defects, principally in the ventral oblique and the dorsal muscles. These pattern defects are evident at the segregation of the muscle precursors, as revealed by an aberrant pattern of S59 gene expression. Midgut development is abnormal: constrictions rarely complete the subdivision of the yolk. Variable heart defects evident as kinked or discontinuous heart. Examination with antibody to the vasa gene product pole cell marker reveal that the shape of the gonads is also abnormal. The adult muscle precursors in the embryo, identified as persistant twist-expressing cells, show variable abnormalities of number and position: up to 25% of the adult muscle precursor cells can be missing.
