Chapter 9
Zebrafish Neural Crest: Lessons and Tools to Study In Vivo
Cell Migration
Zain Alhashem, Macarena Alvarez-Garcillan Portillo, Mint Ravinand Htun,
Anton Gauert, Luis Briones Montecinos, Steffen H € artel, and Claudia Linker
Abstract
The study of cell migration has been greatly enhanced by the development of new model systems and
analysis protocols to study this process in vivo. Zebrafish embryos have been a principal protagonist because
they are easily accessible, genetically tractable, and optically transparent. Neural crest cells, on the other
hand, are the ideal system to study cell migration. These cells migrate extensively, using different modalities
of movement and sharing many traits with metastatic cancer cells. In this chapter, we present new tools and
protocols that allow the study of NC development and migration in vivo.
Key words Zebrafish, Cell migration, Cell tracking, Photoconversion, Cell dissociation, Gal4/Kalt4,
Tamoxifen, UAS, In vivo imaging, Clonal analysis
1 Introduction
The live observation of biological processes is fascinating, which is
why cinematography was adopted by biologists as soon as it was
developed. Indeed, filming was first used as an experimental tool
rather than an entertainment device! In the late nineteenth century,
a horse trot was documented, and the exquisite choreography of its
legs was analysed in detail [1]. Soon after, in 1903, the first movies
of microscopic specimens were made depicting cheese mites
[2]. Since then, light microscopy, image acquisition, and analysis
techniques have made steady advances, letting us appreciate new
levels of detail and complexity. Initially progress was made in
cultured cells, but recently the advances of animal models have
allowed imaging of live cells in their physiological context at high
spatial and temporal resolution. In this sense, the teleost Danio
Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau (eds.), The Epithelial-to Mesenchymal Transition: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2179, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0779-4_9,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this chapter (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-07160779-4_9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
79
Zebrafish Neural Crest: Lessons and Tools to Study In Vivo
Cell Migration
Zain Alhashem, Macarena Alvarez-Garcillan Portillo, Mint Ravinand Htun,
Anton Gauert, Luis Briones Montecinos, Steffen H € artel, and Claudia Linker
Abstract
The study of cell migration has been greatly enhanced by the development of new model systems and
analysis protocols to study this process in vivo. Zebrafish embryos have been a principal protagonist because
they are easily accessible, genetically tractable, and optically transparent. Neural crest cells, on the other
hand, are the ideal system to study cell migration. These cells migrate extensively, using different modalities
of movement and sharing many traits with metastatic cancer cells. In this chapter, we present new tools and
protocols that allow the study of NC development and migration in vivo.
Key words Zebrafish, Cell migration, Cell tracking, Photoconversion, Cell dissociation, Gal4/Kalt4,
Tamoxifen, UAS, In vivo imaging, Clonal analysis
1 Introduction
The live observation of biological processes is fascinating, which is
why cinematography was adopted by biologists as soon as it was
developed. Indeed, filming was first used as an experimental tool
rather than an entertainment device! In the late nineteenth century,
a horse trot was documented, and the exquisite choreography of its
legs was analysed in detail [1]. Soon after, in 1903, the first movies
of microscopic specimens were made depicting cheese mites
[2]. Since then, light microscopy, image acquisition, and analysis
techniques have made steady advances, letting us appreciate new
levels of detail and complexity. Initially progress was made in
cultured cells, but recently the advances of animal models have
allowed imaging of live cells in their physiological context at high
spatial and temporal resolution. In this sense, the teleost Danio
Kyra Campbell and Eric Theveneau (eds.), The Epithelial-to Mesenchymal Transition: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2179, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0779-4_9,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this chapter (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-07160779-4_9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
79