title: Coordinating cell and tissue behavior during zebrafish neural tube morphogenesis.
abstract: The development of a vertebrate neural epithelium with well-organized apico-basal polarity and a central lumen is essential for its proper function. However, how this polarity is established during embryonic development and the potential influence of surrounding signals and tissues on such organization has remained less understood. In recent years the combined superior transparency and genetics of the zebrafish embryo has allowed for in vivo visualization and quantification of the cellular and molecular dynamics that govern neural tube structure. Here, we discuss recent studies revealing how co-ordinated cell-cell interactions coupled with adjacent tissue dynamics are critical to regulate final neural tissue architecture. Furthermore, new findings show how the spatial regulation and timing of orientated cell division is key in defining precise lumen formation at the tissue midline. In addition, we compare zebrafish neurulation with that of amniotes and amphibians in an attempt to understand the conserved cellular mechanisms driving neurulation and resolve the apparent differences among animals. Zebrafish neurulation not only offers fundamental insights into early vertebrate brain development but also the opportunity to explore in vivo cell and tissue dynamics during complex three-dimensional animal morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Campus Isla Teja s/n, Valdivia, Chile.|UACh Program in Cellular Dynamics and Microscopy.|Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios del Sistema Nervioso (CISNe), UACh.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Araya
authors.affiliation: University of Bristol, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical Sciences, University Walk, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Laura C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gemma C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Girdler
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Campus Isla Teja s/n, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miranda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000196:embryology*; D054259:Neural Tube / Q000196:embryology*; D054261:Neurulation / Q000502:physiology*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*
keywords: morphogenesis; neurulation; zebrafish