Image analysis for understanding embryo development: a bridge from microscopy to biological insights

The digital reconstruction of the embryogenesis of model organisms from 3D + time data is revolutionizing practices in quantitative and integrative Developmental Biology. A manual and fully supervised image analysis of the massive complex data acquired with new microscopy technologies is no longer an option and automated image processing methods are required to fully exploit the potential of imaging data for biological insights. Current developments and challenges in biological image processing include algorithms for microscopy multiview fusion, cell nucleus tracking for quasi-perfect lineage reconstruction, segmentation, and validation methodologies for cell membrane shape identification, single cell gene expression quantification from in situ hybridization data, and multidimensional image registration algorithms for the construction of prototypic models. These tools will be essential to ultimately produce the multilevel in toto reconstruction that combines the cell lineage tree, cells, and tissues structural information and quantitative gene expression data in its spatio-temporal context throughout development.