Neuronal development and migration in zebrafish hindbrain explants

The zebrafish embryo is an excellent system for studying dynamic processes such as cell migration during vertebrate development. Dynamic analysis of neuronal migration in the zebrafish hindbrain has been hampered by morphogenetic movements in vivo, and by the impermeability of embryos. We have applied a recently reported technique of embryo explant culture to the analysis of neuronal development and migration in the zebrafish hindbrain. We show that hindbrain explants prepared at the somitogenesis stage undergo normal morphogenesis for at least 14 h in culture. Importantly, several aspects of hindbrain development such as patterning, neurogenesis, axon guidance, and neuronal migration are largely unaffected, inspite of increased cell death in explanted tissue. These results suggest that hindbrain explant culture can be employed effectively in zebrafish to analyze neuronal migration and other dynamic processes using pharmacological and imaging techniques.