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Towing of sensory axons by their migrating target cells in vivo

Nature Neuroscience volume 7, pages 491–492 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Many pathfinding axons must locate target fields that are themselves positioned by active migration. A hypothetical method for ensuring that these migrations are coordinated is towing, whereby the extension of axons is entirely dependent on the migration of their target cells. Here we combine genetics and time-lapse imaging in the zebrafish to show that towing by migrating cells is a bona fide mechanism for guiding pathfinding axons in vivo.

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Figure 1: In vivo imaging of lateral line migration in wild-type and ody mutants.
Figure 2: The lateral line nerve is towed by the migrating primordium.
Figure 3: Migrating LLP provides cues that are sufficient to guide the LL nerve.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to J. Campos-Ortega for providing the H2A-F/Z:GFP transgenic line and to F. Peri for discussion and critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung Genetik, Max Planck Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35, Tübingen, 72076, Germany

    Darren Gilmour, Holger Knaut, Hans-Martin Maischein & Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

  2. Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, Developmental Genetics Program, NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, 10016, New York, USA

    Holger Knaut

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  1. Darren Gilmour
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  2. Holger Knaut
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  3. Hans-Martin Maischein
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  4. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
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Correspondence to Darren Gilmour.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1

(a) In situ hybridisation showing CXCR4b expression in wild type lateral line primordium at 36 hpf. The G-protein coupled receptor is rapidly down regulated in newly deposited pro-neuromasts (arrows). (b) Endogenous alkaline phosphatase staining of neuromasts in 5 day old larvae. Ody mutants (lower) show strongly reduced number of neuromasts in the posterior lateral line when compared to wild type siblings (upper). (JPG 55 kb)

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Gilmour, D., Knaut, H., Maischein, HM. et al. Towing of sensory axons by their migrating target cells in vivo. Nat Neurosci 7, 491–492 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1235

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