The early stage of migration of neural crest cells was observed in the mid-brain level of bantam embryos (5-somite stage to 15-somite stage) by transmission) electron microscopy. It was confirmed that the migration of the neural crest cells starts at the stage of 7-8 somites and ends at the stage of about 14 somites. During this period, not only the contact of migrating crest cells with each ot...

Neurons of cranial sensory ganglia are derived from the neural crest and ectodermal placodes, but the mechanisms that control the relative contributions of each are not understood. Crest cells of the second branchial arch generate few facial ganglion neurons and no vestibuloacoustic ganglion neurons, but crest cells in other branchial arches generate many sensory neurons. Here we report that th...

Neural crest cells, which generate peripheral nervous system and facial skeleton, arise at the neural plate/ectodermal border via an inductive interaction between these tissues. Wnts and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play roles in neural crest induction in amphibians and zebrafish. Here, we show that, in avians, Wnt6 is localized in ectoderm and in vivo inhibition of Wnt signaling perturbs...

Splotch mice, which harbour mutations in the Pax3 gene, exhibit neural crest-related abnormalities including pigmentation defects, reduced or absent dorsal root ganglia and failure of cardiac outflow tract septation in homozygotes. Although splotch neural crest cells fail to colonise target tissues, they initiate migration in vivo and appear to migrate as well as wild type neural crest cells in...

BACKGROUND In the trunk of avian embryos, neural crest migration through the somites is segmental, with neural crest cells entering the rostral half of each somitic sclerotome but avoiding the caudal half. Little is known about the molecular nature of the cues-intrinsic to the somites-that are responsible for this segmental migration of neural crest cells. RESULTS We demonstrate that Eph-rela...

BACKGROUND During vertebrate head development, neural crest cells migrate from hindbrain segments to specific branchial arches, where they differentiate into distinct patterns of skeletal structures. The rostrocaudal identity of branchial neural crest cells appears to be specified prior to migration, so it is important that they are targeted to the correct destination. In Xenopus embryos, branc...

The lasting effects of neuronal activity on brain development involve calcium-dependent gene expression. Using a strategy called transactivator trap, we cloned a calcium-responsive transactivator called CREST (for calcium-responsive transactivator). CREST is a SYT-related nuclear protein that interacts with adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) response element-binding protein (CREB)-binding pro...

Trunk neural crest cells migrate through the somites in a striking segmental fashion, entering the rostral but not caudal sclerotome, via cues intrinsic to the somites. Attempts to define the molecular bases of these cues have been hampered by the lack of an accessible assay system. To examine trunk neural crest migration over time and to perturb candidate guiding molecules, we have developed a...

OBJECTIVES Enteric neural stem cells provide hope of curative treatment for enteric neuropathies. Current protocols for their harvesting from humans focus on the generation of 'neurospheres' from cultures of dissociated gut tissue. The study aims to better understand the derivation, generation and composition of enteric neurospheres. DESIGN Gut tissue was obtained from Wnt1-Cre;Rosa26Yfp/Yfp ...

Despite the widely accepted importance of herbivory as a determinant of reef benthic community structure, few studies have examined the relative contributions of individual species to ecosystem processes at the whole reef scale. This study quantifies the grazing impact of individual species of roving herbivorous fishes across an inner shelf fringing reef at Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef, A...