Neural crest development in zebrafish

The neural crest is composed of highly migratory pluripotent cells that delaminate in early development from the dorsal neural tube and give rise to an astounding variety of differentiated cell types. The neural crest is a novel vertebrate invention providing the body with a large number of external structures that modify and enrich the basic body plan of the different vertebrate classes. Neural crest derived structures provide targets for sexual selection, such as the cranial cartilage, the pigment cells of the skin providing the rich colour patterns, the beaks, horns and antlers in mammals. Neural crest also contributes to a number of other structures including the glia of the peripheral nervous system, the enteric nervous system and several glands. Traditionally neural crest development has been studied mainly in chicken embryos. The transparency of the embryo and the availability of mutants and fluorescent transgenic lines in the zebrafish allow a more sophisticated analysis of the routes the neural crest derived cells take during larval and adult development. Although much is known about early development, the position and location of undifferentiated (stem) cells of neural crest origin that give rise to the increasing number of cells in the organs and tissues during growth of the fish is not known. One of the challenges is the establishment of long term labelling protocols that allow a lineage tracing of cells of neural crest origin, and follow them throughout development and growth of the animal. In our lab, we are studying early development of the neural crest cells as well as the origin and function of neural crest derived differentiated cells and tissues contributing to the peripheral glia, the pigment pattern, and the scales and fins.

We are working on the following topics

• Identifying early regulators of neural crest development

• The contribution of neural crest cells to adult structures of zebrafish
• Pigment cell patterning in the adult zebrafish

Personnel:

• Dr. Hans Georg Frohnhöfer                        Staff scientist (10/94 - )
  
• Dr. Mitch Levesque                                       Postdoc (08/05 - )
  
• Dr. Matthew Harris                                        Postdoc (03/04 - 04/10)
  
• Madeleine van Drenth                                  PhD student (10/03 - 03/09)
  
• Yi-Yen Chen                                                   PhD student  (07/03 - ) 
  
• Alessandro Mongera                                    PhD student (01/09 - )
  

Collaborators:

• Dr. Robert Geisler                                            KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany
  
• Christopher Dooley                                         Former Robert Geisler group

Key Publications:

Maderspacher, F. and Nüsslein-Volhard, C. 2003: Formation of the adult pigment pattern in zebrafish requires leopard and obelix dependent cell interactions. Development 130, 3447-3457.