Deletion of a conserved zebrafish Gata2 enhancer impairs haemogenic endothelium programming and adult haematopoiesis

Haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) maintain the vertebrate blood system throughout life and their emergence from haemogenic endothelium (HE) is regulated by transcription factors such as Gata2. Here we deleted a conserved enhancer (i4 enhancer) driving pan-endothelial expression of gata2a and showed that Gata2a is required for HE programming by regulating expression of runx1 and of the second zebrafish Gata2 orthologue, gata2b. By 5 days, homozygous gata2a{Delta}i4/{Delta}i4 larvae showed normal numbers of HSPCs, a recovery mediated by Notch signalling driving gata2b and runx1 expression in HE. However, gata2a{Delta}i4/{Delta}i4 adults showed oedema, susceptibility to infections and marrow hypo-cellularity, consistent with bone marrow failure found in GATA2 deficiency syndromes. Thus, gata2a expression driven by the i4 enhancer is required for HE programming in embryos and maintenance of steady-state haematopoietic stem cell output in the adult. These enhancer mutants are a new paradigm to explore the pathophysiology of GATA2-related deficiencies in vivo.