Role of the Neural Crest in Vertebrate Development and Evolution by Nicole Le Douarin, March 2008 - Part 1: The Quail Chick Marker System and Its Use to Study the Ontogeny of the Neural Crest (24:45)

The neural crest (NC) is a transitory structure of the Vertebrate embryo. It forms when the neural tube closes... » More

The neural crest (NC) is a transitory structure of the Vertebrate embryo. It forms when the neural tube closes through the epithelio- mesenchymal transition of the cells in the joining neural folds. Its constitutive cells are endowed of migratory capacities and are highly pluripotent. NC cells migrate in the developing embryo along definite pathways, at precise periods of time during embryogenesis and settle in elected sites in the body where they develop into a large of cell types. The paramount role played by the NC in the development of higher Vertebrates has been deciphered in the last decades through the use of cell marking technique that I devised in 1969. This technique is based on the constrution of chimeric embryos between two species of birds the chick (Gallus gallus) and the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) whose cells can be distinguished by the structure of their interphase nucleus or by applying species specific monoclonal antibodies on chimeric tissues.

For further information see: http://www.ascb.org/ibioseminars/LeDouarin/LeDouarin1.cfm « Hide