PUBLICATION

Distribution of tissue progenitors within the shield region of the zebrafish gastrula

Authors
Shih, J. and Fraser, S.E.
ID
ZDB-PUB-961014-1030
Date
1995
Source
Development (Cambridge, England)   121: 2755-2765 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Fraser, Scott E., Shih, John
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Embryonic Induction
  • Gastrula/cytology
  • Gastrula/physiology*
  • Microscopy, Video
  • Morphogenesis
  • Nervous System/cytology
  • Nervous System/embryology
  • Notochord/cytology
  • Stem Cells/cytology*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
7555704 Full text @ Development
Abstract
The zebrafish has emerged as an important model system for the experimental analysis of vertebrate development because it is amenable to genetic analysis and because its optical clarity allows the movements and the differentiation of individual cells to be followed in vivo. In this paper, we have sought to characterize the spatial distribution of tissue progenitors within the outer cell layers of the embryonic shield region of the early gastrula. Single cells were labeled by iontophoretic injection of fluorescent dextrans. Subsequently, we documented their position with respect to the embryonic shield and their eventual fates. Our data show that progenitor cells of the neural, notochordal, somitic and endodermal lineages were all present within the embryonic shield region, and that these progenitors were arranged as intermingled populations. Moreover, close to the midline, there was evidence for significant biases in the distribution of neural and notochord progenitors between the layers, suggesting some degree of radial organization within the zebrafish embryonic shield region. The distributions of tissue progenitors in the zebrafish gastrula differ significantly from those in amphibians; this bears not only on interpretations of mutant phenotypes and in situ staining patterns, but also on our understanding of morphogenetic movements during gastrulation and of neural induction in the zebrafish.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping