Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Lampbrush Chromosomes

Lampbrush Chromosomes

In 1882, Flemming observed lampbrush chromosomes (LBC) in salamander eggs. Later in 1892, Rückert observed LBCs in shark egg cells and coined the term "lampbrush chromosomes" because they looked like brushes used to clean kerosene lamps.
LBCs are made up of two pairs of conjugating homologous chromatids. Each chromatid consists of alternatively positioned regions of condensed-inactive chromatin and loosely placed-active side loops, which can be contracted and extended. The loops...

Cell Migration

Cell Migration

Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.

Cell Migration

Cell Migration

Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.

Gastrulation

Gastrulation

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...

Microtubules in Signaling

Microtubules in Signaling

The primary cilium, made up of microtubules, acts as antennae on the cell surfaces for relaying external stimuli into the cells. These fine hair-like structures are present, generally one per cell. These are non-motile cilia in a 9+0 microtubules arrangement, where the central pair of microtubules are absent. The primary cilia arise from the basal body embedded in the cell membrane. Intraflagellar transport (IFT) carries requisite proteins from the cytoplasm to the cilium because the primary...

Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent Signaling

Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Graded BMP signals modulate yellow and red color in fishes, impacting adult pigment patterns and conspecific shoaling behavior.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same author

Cell type diversification and phenotype convergence underlying white fin-ornamentation of cyprinid fishes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Cell-cell communication as underlying principle governing color pattern formation in teleost fishes.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Graded BMP signals modulate yellow and red color in fishes impacting adult pigment pattern and behavior.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

CD44 facilitates adhesive interactions in airineme-mediated intercellular signaling.

Frontiers in cell and developmental biology·2025

Same author

Cell-cell communication as underlying principle governing color pattern formation in fishes.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Double In Utero Electroporation to Target Temporally and Spatially Separated Cell Populations

Double In Utero Electroporation to Target Temporally and Spatially Separated Cell Populations

Published on: June 14, 2020

Long-distance communication by specialized cellular projections during pigment pattern development and evolution.

Dae Seok Eom¹, Emily J Bain¹, Larissa B Patterson¹

¹Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States.

|December 25, 2015

Summary

Zebrafish stripes form via thin cellular projections that promote Delta-Notch signaling. Pearl danio lack these, showing how cell communication differences drive evolutionary pattern changes.

Keywords:

Notch-Delta cell signaling developmental biology evolution evolutionary biology genomics long-distance communication melanocyte melanophore neural crest pigment pattern stem cells xanthophore zebrafish

More Related Videos

A Method for Lineage Tracing of Corneal Cells Using Multi-color Fluorescent Reporter Mice

A Method for Lineage Tracing of Corneal Cells Using Multi-color Fluorescent Reporter Mice

Published on: December 18, 2015

Visualization of Tangential Cell Migration in the Developing Chick Optic Tectum

Visualization of Tangential Cell Migration in the Developing Chick Optic Tectum

Published on: October 24, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Double In Utero Electroporation to Target Temporally and Spatially Separated Cell Populations

Double In Utero Electroporation to Target Temporally and Spatially Separated Cell Populations

Published on: June 14, 2020

A Method for Lineage Tracing of Corneal Cells Using Multi-color Fluorescent Reporter Mice

A Method for Lineage Tracing of Corneal Cells Using Multi-color Fluorescent Reporter Mice

Published on: December 18, 2015

Visualization of Tangential Cell Migration in the Developing Chick Optic Tectum

Visualization of Tangential Cell Migration in the Developing Chick Optic Tectum

Published on: October 24, 2018

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Evolutionary Biology
Cell Biology

Background:

Gene activity changes drive evolutionary diversification.
Understanding cellular behaviors behind adult form modifications is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate cellular mechanisms of alternative pigment patterns in zebrafish and pearl danio.
Uncover the cellular basis for distinct adult coloration.

Main Methods:

Utilized zebrafish and pearl danio pigmentation models.
Analyzed neural crest-derived pigment cell interactions.
Examined cellular projections and signaling pathways (Delta-Notch).

Main Results:

Zebrafish stripes require thin, fast cellular projections for Delta-Notch signaling between xanthophores and melanophores.
These projections depend on microfilaments and microtubules, delivering vesicles.
Pearl danio lack projections, with Colony stimulating factor 1-mediated changes in xanthophore differentiation impacting melanophore signaling.

Conclusions:

A novel mechanism of cellular communication involving long-distance projections is identified.
Differentiation state heterogeneity in pigment cells plays a role in pattern formation.
This morphogenetic behavior contributes to significant differences in adult form between species.