1. Cell-fate plasticity, adhesion and cell sorting complementarily establish a sharp midbrain-hindbrain boundary.
- Author
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Kesavan G, Machate A, Hans S, and Brand M
- Subjects
- Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified growth & development, Animals, Genetically Modified metabolism, CRISPR-Cas Systems genetics, Cadherins genetics, Cadherins metabolism, Cell Lineage, Embryo, Nonmammalian metabolism, Ephrins antagonists & inhibitors, Ephrins genetics, Ephrins metabolism, Gastrulation, Gene Editing, Mesencephalon pathology, Microscopy, Atomic Force, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Morpholinos metabolism, Otx Transcription Factors genetics, Otx Transcription Factors metabolism, Rhombencephalon pathology, Signal Transduction, Time-Lapse Imaging, Zebrafish growth & development, Zebrafish Proteins genetics, Zebrafish Proteins metabolism, Cell Adhesion physiology, Mesencephalon metabolism, Rhombencephalon metabolism, Zebrafish metabolism
- Abstract
The formation and maintenance of sharp boundaries between groups of cells play a vital role during embryonic development as they serve to compartmentalize cells with similar fates. Some of these boundaries also act as organizers, with the ability to induce specific cell fates and morphogenesis in the surrounding cells. The midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) is such an organizer: it acts as a lineage restriction boundary to prevent the intermingling of cells with different developmental fates. However, the mechanisms underlying the lineage restriction process remain unclear. Here, using novel fluorescent knock-in reporters, live imaging, Cre/lox-mediated lineage tracing, atomic force microscopy-based cell adhesion assays and mutant analysis, we analyze the process of lineage restriction at the MHB and provide mechanistic details. Specifically, we show that lineage restriction occurs by the end of gastrulation, and that the subsequent formation of sharp gene expression boundaries in the developing MHB occur through complementary mechanisms, i.e. cell-fate plasticity and cell sorting. Furthermore, we show that cell sorting at the MHB involves differential adhesion among midbrain and hindbrain cells that is mediated by N-cadherin and Eph-ephrin signaling., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)
- Published
- 2020
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