Analyzing Craniofacial Morphogenesis in Zebrafish Using 4D Confocal Microscopy

Summary

Time-lapse confocal imaging is a powerful technique useful for characterizing embryonic development. Here, we describe the methodology and characterize craniofacial morphogenesis in wild-type, as well as pdgfra, smad5, and smo mutant embryos.

Abstract

Time-lapse imaging is a technique that allows for the direct observation of the process of morphogenesis, or the generation of shape. Due to their optical clarity and amenability to genetic manipulation, the zebrafish embryo has become a popular model organism with which to perform time-lapse analysis of morphogenesis in living embryos. Confocal imaging of a live zebrafish embryo requires that a tissue of interest is persistently labeled with a fluorescent marker, such as a transgene or injected dye. The process demands that the embryo is anesthetized and held in place in such a way that healthy development proceeds normally. Parameters for imaging must be set to account for three-dimensional growth and to balance the demands of resolving individual cells while getting quick snapshots of development. Our results demonstrate the ability to perform long-term in vivo imaging of fluorescence-labeled zebrafish embryos and to detect varied tissue behaviors in the cranial neural crest that cause craniofacial abnormalities. Developmental delays caused by anesthesia and mounting are minimal, and embryos are unharmed by the process. Time-lapse imaged embryos can be returned to liquid medium and subsequently imaged or fixed at later points in development. With an increasing abundance of transgenic zebrafish lines and well-characterized fate mapping and transplantation techniques, imaging any desired tissue is possible. As such, time-lapse in vivo imaging combines powerfully with zebrafish genetic methods, including analyses of mutant and microinjected embryos.

Introduction

Craniofacial morphogenesis is a complex multi-step process that requires coordinated interactions between multiple cell types. The majority of the craniofacial skeleton is derived from neural crest cells, many of which must migrate from the dorsal neural tube into transient structures called pharyngeal arches¹. As with many tissues, morphogenesis of the craniofacial skeleton is more complicated than can be understood by static images of embryos at specific developmental time points. Although it is time-consuming to perform, in vivo time-lapse microscopy provides a continuous look at a developing embryo's cells and tissues. Each image in a time-....

Protocol

1. Animal Husbandry and Mutant Alleles

1. Raise and breed zebrafish as described²¹.
2. Zebrafish mutant alleles used in this study were pdgfra ^{b1059 16}, smad5 ^{b1100 22}, and smo^{b577 23}. Sources for these zebrafish strains include ZIRC.

2. Preparation of Solutions and Implements

Note: All solutions and implements can be made in advance and stored for future use.

1. Make embryo media (EM) as previously described²¹.
2. Make 4 g/L MS-222 (Tricaine). Dissolve 4 g disodium phosphate (Na₂HPO₄) in 450 ml ste....

Results

In wild-type embryos, following neural crest population, the pharyngeal arches elongate along the anterior/posterior and dorsal/ventral axes while moving in a rostral direction (Movie 1). At 30 hours post-fertilization (hpf), the anterior/posterior length of the first pharyngeal arch is between 1.8-1.9 times its dorsal/ventral height. Dorsal/ventral elongation proceeds steadily, faster than anterior/posterior extension until 36.5 hpf. From here, dorsal/ventral height plateaus around 104 µm through 48 hpf.......

Discussion

Time-lapse confocal microscopy is a powerful tool for the analysis of development. Here, we demonstrate the method's usefulness in studying pharyngeal arch morphogenesis in zebrafish that are mutant for important signaling pathways using a transgenic that labels neural crest cells. In addition to tissue-level analyses, time lapse analyses are also applicable to analyses at a cellular scale²⁸. Many widely used zebrafish methods can also be incorporated into time-lapse microscopy experiments, including micro.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
6 lb Test monofilament line	Cortland Line Company	SLB16
Agarose I	Amresco	0710
Argon laser	LASOS Lasertechnik GmbH	LGN 3001
Calcium chloride	Sigma-Aldrich	C8106
Capillary tubing, 100 mm, 0.9 mm ID	FHC	30-31-0
Clove oil	Hilltech Canada, Inc.	HB-102
High vacuum grease	Dow Corning	2021846-0807
Isotemp dry-bath incubator	Fisher Scientific	2050FS
Laser scanning microscope	Carl Zeiss AG	LSM 710
Magnesium sulfate hexahydrate	Sigma-Aldrich	230391
Microscope cover glass, 22 x 22-1	Fisher Scientific	12-542-B
Microscope cover glass, 24 x 60-1	Fisher Scientific	12-545-M
Potassium chloride	Fisher Scientific	M-11321
Potassium phosphate dibasic	Sigma-Aldrich	P3786
Sodium chloride	Fisher Scientific	M-11624
Sodium phosphate dibasic	Sigma-Aldrich	S7907
TempController 2000-2	PeCon GmbH
Tricaine-S	Western Chemical, Inc.