Loss of mpv17 affected early embryonic development via mitochondria dysfunction in zebrafish

MVP17 encodes a mitochondrial inner-membrane protein, and mutation of human MVP17 can cause mitochondria DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). However, the underlying function of mpv17 is still elusive. Here, we developed a new mutant with mpv17 knockout by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The mpv17(−/−) zebrafish showed developmental defects in muscles, liver, and energy supply. The mpv17(−/−) larvae hardly survived beyond a month, and they showed abnormal growth during the development stage. Abnormal swimming ability was also found in the mpv17(−/−) zebrafish. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation indicated that the mpv17(−/−) zebrafish underwent severe mitochondria dysfunction and the disorder of mitochondrial cristae. As an energy producer, the defects of mitochondria significantly reduced ATP content in mpv17(−/−) zebrafish, compared to wild-type zebrafish. We hypothesized that the disorder of mitochondria cristae was contributed to the dysfunction of muscle and liver in the mpv17(−/−) zebrafish. Moreover, the content of major energy depot triglycerides (TAG) was decreased dramatically. Interestingly, after rescued with normal exogenous mitochondria by microinjection, the genes involved in the TAG metabolism pathway were recovered to a normal level. Taken together, this is the first report of developmental defects in muscles, liver, and energy supply via mitochondria dysfunction, and reveals the functional mechanism of mpv17 in zebrafish.