Zebrafish ventral gastrula fate map reveals neural crest progenitor domain

Fate maps relate progenitor cell positions to later fates and locations of their progeny, revealing early embryonic organization. Previous zebrafish fate maps identified the origin of germ layers and derivative cell fates, but ventral gastrula progenitor domains were not fully resolved. In particular, the neural crest, a multipotent cell type central to vertebrate development and evolution, was not characterized in the zebrafish fate map.

We generated a region-based fate map to resolve the origin of the neural crest and overall organization of the ventral gastrula. This fate map demonstrates that cranial neural crest and placodes arise from a broadly overlapping progenitor domain. Notably, trunk neural crest and neural tube always arise together, while cranial neural crest and neural tube can arise from segregated progenitor pools. A separate, far-ventral progenitor domain produces somites, spinal cord, neural crest, and epidermis in the posterior tail.

We situate the neural crest in the fate map and clarify the early embryonic organization of the zebrafish ventral gastrula. Our fate map establishes multiple mixed-fate domains in the ventral gastrula and their contributions to the overall body plan. This fate map provides information for further investigation of early vertebrate development and neural crest biology.