No malformations were observed in wild type embryos from non-diabetic pregnancies (Table 2). Consistent with previous observations32, a relatively small proportion of Alx3 +/− and Alx3 −/− embryos developing in non-diabetic mothers showed cranial malformations affecting the closure of the cranial neural tube (Table 2 and Supplementary Fig. S1).Table 2Number of malformed or non-malformed embryos at 10.5 days of gestation during non-diabetic or diabetic pregnancies.GenotypeDiabetic motherNumber of embryos examinedNumber of non-malformed embryosNumber of embryos with craniofacial malformationsNumber of embryos with caudal malformationsTotal percentage of malformed embryos Alx3 +/+ No1321320 (0)0 (0)0 Alx3 +/− No1921884 (2.08)0 (0)2.08 Alx3 −/− No86824 (4.65)0 (0)4.65 Alx3 +/+ Yes78740 (0)4 (5.12)5.12 Alx3 +/− Yes17114713 (7.6)a,d 11 (6.43)14.03f Alx3 −/− Yes15211524 (15.78)b,c,e 13 (8.55)24.34g Numbers in parenthesis denote percentage of total. a p < 0.05 relative to Alx3 +/− embryos from non-diabetic mothers; Fisher’s exact test. b p < 0.05 relative to Alx3 +/− embryos from diabetic mothers; Fisher’s exact test. c p < 0.05 relative to Alx3 −/− embryos from non-diabetic mothers; Fisher’s exact test. d,f p < 0.001 relative to Alx3 +/− embryos from non-diabetic mothers plus Alx3 +/+ embryos from diabetic mothers; χ2 test. e,g p < 0.001 relative to Alx3 −/− embryos from non-diabetic mothers plus Alx3 +/+ embryos from diabetic mothers; χ2 test.