PUBLICATION

Neuromeric organization of the midbrain-hindbrain boundary region in zebrafish

Authors
Langenberg, T.
ID
ZDB-PUB-090602-5
Date
2004
Source
Ph.D. Thesis : (Thesis)
Registered Authors
Langenberg, Tobias
Keywords
segment, zebrafish, lineage restriction, midbrain-hindbrain boundary, organizer
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
none
Abstract
The neuromeric concept of brain formation has become a well-established model to explain how order is created in the developing vertebrate central nervous system. The most important feature of neuromeres is their compartmentalization on the cellular level: Each neuromere comprises a lineage-restricted population of cells that does not intermingle with cells from neighboring compartments. The units of the vertebrate hindbrain, the rhombomeres, serve as the best-studied examples of neuromeres. Here, the lineage restriction mechanism has been found to function on the basis of differentially expressed adhesion molecules. To date, hard evidence for the existence of other lineage restricted regions in more anterior parts of the brain is still scarce. The focus of this study is the midbrain-hindbrain boundary (mhb) region, where the juxtaposition of the mesencephalon and metencephalon gives rise to a signaling center, termed the midbrain-hindbrain or isthmic organizer. Evidence for lineage restriction boundaries in the mhb region is still controversial, with some very recent studies supporting the existence of a lineage boundary between the mesencephalon and metencephalon and others rejecting this. Here, I present data strongly supporting the existence of a compartment boundary between the posterior midbrain and anterior hindbrain territory. I base this proposition on cell-tracing experiments with single cell resolution. By connecting the traces to a molecular midbrain marker, I establish a link between cell fate and behavior. In the second part, I present a novel tissue explant method for the zebrafish that has the potential to serve numerous developmental studies, especially imaging of so far inaccessible regions of the embryo.
Errata / Notes
Dissertation, Dresden Techn. Univ.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping