We demonstrate that knockdown of Sox11 in zebrafish perturbs lens formation, induces coloboma, and reduces the number of differentiated rod photoreceptors – phenotypes that can be rescued by pharmacological inhibition of the Hh pathway (cyclopamine) or morpholino inhibition of shha. Comparable lenticular and coloboma phenotypes have also been observed in murine mutants [13], demonstrating that Sox11's function in vertebrate ocular development is evolutionarily conserved. Here, SOX11 is linked to coloboma.