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Updated: Oct 10, 2025

The Olfactory System as a Model to Study Axonal Growth Patterns and Morphology In Vivo
Published on: October 30, 2014
The eye tugs and the nose follows: how inter-tissue adhesion directs olfactory development
Sarah J Smith1, Scott A Holley1
1Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Abstract:
Embryonic development is a complex process in which cells divide, migrate, and differentiate in a precise spatiotemporal pattern. Cell-cell communication among neighboring cells plays a central role in specifying cell fate and in coordinating development. Embryonic development also relies on physical interaction between cells and coordinated changes in cell shape. A more recently investigated phenomenon is the coupling of development of adjacent tissues via inter-tissue adhesion. In this issue of EMBO Reports, Monnot and colleagues identify a role for inter-tissue adhesion in the development of adjacent sensory organs in the zebrafish. Specifically, eye morphogenesis influences the organ shape and retrograde axon growth in the adjacent olfactory placode via a shared extracellular matrix.
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