Segmentation of ascidian notochord cells in DIC timelapse images.
We have developed a method to automatically segment notochord cell boundaries from differential interference contrast (DIC) timelapse images of the elongating ascidian tail. The method is based on a specialized parametric active contour, the network snake, which can be initialized as a network of arbitrary but fixed topology and provides an effective framework for simultaneously segmenting multiple touching cells. Several modifications to the original network snake were necessary for high-quality segmentation, including linear Gaussian derivative filtering to reconstruct edge maps from DIC images and a new energy function to improve the segmentation of critical cell-cell vertices. We find that post-intercalation ascidian notochord cells exhibit two distinct cell behaviors: lateral cell edges expand along the AP axis while showing a rapid pulsatile behavior, whereas anterior and posterior cell edges contract smoothly.
Center for BioImage Informatics, Department of Electrical Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA. boguslaw.obara@oerc.ox.ac.uk
Boguslaw
B
Obara
Michael
M
Veeman
Jae Hyeok
JH
Choi
William
W
Smith
B S
BS
Manjunath
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D008857:Microscopy, Interference / Q000379:methods*; D009672:Notochord / Q000166:cytology*; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014561:Urochordata / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*