EVI and MDS/EVI are required for adult intestinal stem cell formation during postembryonic vertebrate development

The gene ectopic viral integration site 1 (EVI) and its variant myelodysplastic syndrome 1 (MDS)/EVI encode zinc‐finger proteins that have been recognized as important oncogenes in various types of cancer. In contrast to the established role of EVI and MDS/EVI in cancer development, their potential function during vertebrate postembryonic development, especially in organ‐specific adult stem cells, is unclear. Amphibian metamorphosis is strikingly similar to postembryonic development around birth in mammals, with both processes taking place when plasma thyroid hormone (T3) levels are high. Using the T3‐dependent metamorphosis in Xenopus tropicalis as a model, we show here that high levels of EVI and MDS/EVI are expressed in the intestine at the climax of metamorphosis and are induced by T3. By using the transcription activator‐like effector nuclease gene editing technology, we have knocked out both EVI and MDS/EVI and have shown that EVI and MDS/EVI are not essential for embryogenesis and premetamorphosis in X . tropicalis. On the other hand, knocking out EVI and MDS/EVI causes severe retardation in the growth and development of the tadpoles during metamorphosis and leads to tadpole lethality at the climax of metamorphosis. Furthermore, the homozygous‐knockout animals have reduced adult intestinal epithelial stem cell proliferation at the end of metamorphosis (for the few that survive through metamorphosis) or during T3‐induced metamorphosis. These findings reveal a novel role of EVI and/or MDS/EVI in regulating the formation and/or proliferation of adult intestinal adult stem cells during postembryonic development in vertebrates.—Okada, M., Shi, Y.‐B. EVI and MDS/EVI are required for adult intestinal stem cell formation during postembryonic vertebrate development. FASEB J. 32,431‐439 (2018). www.fasebj.org