Skin Crawling

In the first days of life, embryonic cells shuffle into place. This morphogenesis shapes our early tissues, but also requires careful coordination. Seeking insights, scientists turn to genetically similar, but easier to study, organisms like this zebrafish. Cells in its posterior lateral line primordium PLLp, (highlighted in green) usually migrate along the fish, peppering its body with tiny sensory organs. But this zebrafish is wounded – its skin (purple) is torn. Only when the skin heals (later in the video) does the PLLp continue to migrate. Researchers used a high-powered 3D imaging technique to capture clues to a cellular collaboration between skin and PLLp, which helps to knit early tissues into place. They now hope to follow other developmental milestones and link them to similar communicating tissues in human development.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Damian E Dalle Nogare and colleagues
• Section on Neural Developmental Dynamics, Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, MD, USA
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, November 2020