title: Quantitative analysis of neural plate thickness and cell density during gastrulation in the chick embryo.
abstract: We quantitatively analyzed the developing prospective neural and non-neural ectoderm during chicken gastrulation on semithin transverse sections. At stage PS8 (primitive streak stage 8 of Lopez-Sanchez et al. [C. Lopez-Sanchez, L. Puelles, V. Garcia-Martinez, L. Rodriguez-Gallardo, Morphological and molecular analysis of the early developing chick requires an expanded series of primitive streak stages, J. Morphol. 264 (2005) 105-116.], equivalent to stage HH4), the thickest area of the ectoderm agrees in extent with the fate-mapped neural plate we had reported previously. The thickness of the median ectoderm is constantly higher up to a distance of 250mum from Hensen's node, and thickness decreases along a mediolateral gradient with a further drop at the prospective lateral border of the neural plate. A higher cell density of the developing ectoderm also coincided with the prospective neural plate. We observed that cell death does not play an important role in the spatial definition of the neural plate.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencia, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain. lrguez@unex.es
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Gallardo
authors.forename: Matías
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidalgo-Sánchez
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Arrones
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prior
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Puelles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology*; D002452:Cell Count; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D054262:Gastrulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D054258:Neural Plate / Q000166:cytology*; D009474:Neurons; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors