Snrk-1 and dusp-5 interact functionally in a single direction affecting etsrp⁺ cell populations and their migration to the midline. (A) Whole-mount ISH expression pattern of etsrp⁺ cells in WT embryos. In the snrk-1 MO plus dusp-5 mRNA background (B), etsrp⁺ cells appear in similar locations and pattern normally compared with age-matched WT embryos (A). In the dusp-5 MO plus snrk-1 mRNA background (C), etsrp⁺ cells do not migrate to the midline, and a gross increase in this population occurs in the LPM. (D) Quantification of the percentage of embryos displaying defects observed in panels B (n = 38) and C (n = 26). “A” and “P” labels denote the direction of the anterior-posterior axis in panel A and corresponding panels. The MO doses were 6 ng, and the mRNA dose was 75 pg.