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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Published on: July 24, 2014

Random cell movement promotes synchronization of the segmentation clock.

Koichiro Uriu¹, Yoshihiro Morishita, Yoh Iwasa

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan. uriu@bio-math10.biology.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|March 3, 2010

Summary

Random cell movement in vertebrate somitogenesis enhances synchronization of segmentation clock gene oscillations. This movement aids faster recovery of synchrony after disruption, challenging previous theoretical models.

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Published on: June 9, 2023

Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Systems biology
Biophysics

Background:

Vertebrate somitogenesis involves oscillating segmentation clock genes, synchronized by Delta-Notch signaling.
Dynamic cell rearrangement occurs in the posterior presomitic mesoderm during somitogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate if cell synchronization can be sustained despite random cell movement.
Explain the rapid synchronization recovery observed experimentally, which contradicts prior models.

Main Methods:

Numerical modeling of cell-cell interactions and gene oscillations.
Simulation of random cell movement within the presomitic mesoderm.

Main Results:

Synchronized oscillations are sustained under random cell movement.
Faster synchronization recovery and broader parameter range for synchrony observed with cell movement.
Domain shape influences synchronization speed, with faster rates in rectangular domains with greater exchange along the longer axis.

Conclusions:

Random cell movement actively enhances and stabilizes segmentation clock synchrony.
Cellular dynamics are crucial for understanding rapid synchronization recovery in somitogenesis.
Findings reconcile experimental observations with theoretical models of developmental patterning.