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In humans,CERKL mutations cause widespread retinal degeneration:early dysfunction and loss of rod and cone photoreceptors in the outer retina and progressively,death of cells in the inner retina as well.Despite intensive efforts,the function of CERKL remains obscure and studies in mouse models have failed to clarify the disease mechanism of CERKL mutations.To address this gap in knowledge,we generated a stable CERKL knockout zebrafish model by TALEN technology.These CERKL-/-animals showed progressive degeneration of photoreceptor outer segments (OS) and increased apoptosis of retinal cells,including those in the outer and inner retinal layers.