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Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata will form...

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Related Experiment Video

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En Face Endocardial Cushion Preparation for Planar Morphogenesis Analysis in Mouse Embryos

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Analyzing planar cell polarity during zebrafish gastrulation.

Jason R Jessen¹

¹Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. jason.r.jessen@vanderbilt.edu

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|January 6, 2012

Summary

Planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins are crucial for embryonic development. Disrupting PCP in zebrafish embryos leads to defects in convergence and extension, affecting cell movements and body plan formation.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Cell Biology
Genetics

Background:

Planar cell polarity (PCP) describes tissue-level cell orientation, initially studied in invertebrates.
Vertebrate PCP proteins are vital for gastrulation and morphogenetic movements.
Zebrafish convergence and extension movements shape the embryonic body plan.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe methods for analyzing cellular movements during zebrafish gastrulation.
To link embryonic phenotypes to planar cell polarity defects.

Main Methods:

Utilizing live imaging techniques (Nomarski/DIC and fluorescence microscopy) on transparent zebrafish embryos.
Analyzing cellular behaviors during convergence and extension at the cellular level.

Main Results:

Disruption of PCP gene function results in shortened anterior-posterior axes and mediolateral broadening.
PCP defects profoundly impact convergence and extension movements.

Conclusions:

Zebrafish gastrula embryos provide a model for studying PCP in vivo.
Cellular-level analysis connects PCP gene function to morphogenetic defects during development.