The loss of TTP function results in malformations along the anterior/posterior axis and early life-stage mortality. We theorize that TTP mediates a-tocopherol transfer to critical sites in the embryo during early vertebrate development and thus, TTP is required for embryogenesis. It is important to note that this requirement for TTP takes place during a time analogous to the first 20 days of human gestation. This window is prior to the detection of most pregnancies, and often before the consumption of prenatal supplements. This early requirement combined with the inadequate a-tocopherol consumption could be responsible for early failures in human pregnancy. The role of TTP and a-tocopherol in post-implantation development needs to be addressed, as these results highlight the role of TTP and ramifications of its loss. In summary, we demonstrate that adult zebrafish express TTP, which is homologous to the human protein. As development is a highly regulated process and genes are specifically controlled in both a spatial and temporal fashion, we assayed both the quantity and location of Ttpa during the first day of zebrafish development. The function of TTP was determined through inhibition of TTP translation using antisense MOs to knockdown protein expression. We conclude that TTP is essential for early brain and axis development, likely because it delivers a-tocopherol to the developing embryo. Biotrophic fungi spend at least part of their lifecycle in the host cell without causing symptoms of disease and represent important intracellular pathogens of humans, animals, and plants. In particular, such fungi cause devastating diseases of crops, but long standing questions concerning which metabolites the fungi make themselves, and what they obtain from the plant, are largely unanswered. Determining the metabolites available to pathogens in host tissue could reveal new information regarding pathogen-host interactions that would point the way to novel mitigation strategies. The hemi-biotrophic ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae is a serious threat to rice Axitinib 319460-85-0 production and global food security. Initial infection involves penetration of the host leaf by a specialized infection structure called the appressorium. The appressorium develops on the surface of the leaf and generates enormous internal turgor pressure that is directed onto a penetration hypha emerging from the base of the appressorium, forcing it through the surface of the leaf. The penetration hypha then forms a thin filamentous primary hypha that grows in the cell lumen before differentiating into bulbous invasive hyphae. Successive biotrophic colonization of adjacent plant cells by IH proceeds for 4–5 days in susceptible cultivars before the fungus enters its necrotic phase. 10–30 % of global rice harvests are lost in this manner each year. How M. oryzae sustains growth during biotrophy, what constitutes the nutrient environment encountered during infection, and how accessible metabolites contribute to disease, is not known. M. oryzae has extensive metabolic capabilities, growing axenically in synthetic 1% glucose minimal media containing simple sources of nitrogen and synthesizing all amino acids, purines and pyrimidines de novo. Moreover, M. oryzae carries genetic regulatory systems that allow it to respond dynamically to nutrient quality and quantity in the environment. These include nitrogen metabolite repression and carbon catabolite repression, which ensure the utilization of preferred sources of nitrogen and carbon, respectively.