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Figure 5 | EvoDevo

Figure 5

From: The Nodal signaling pathway controls left-right asymmetric development in amphioxus

Figure 5

Inhibition of Nodal signaling alters the left-right asymmetric arrangement of muscle segments and nervous system. All images are taken from the dorsal view. ‘L’ marks the left side, ‘R’ marks the right side, and asterisks (*) mark the anterior. The notochord is marked with an ‘n’. Dashed lines mark somite borders and white arrows mark axons of the peripheral nerves. Scale bar, 50 μm. (A, B) B. belcheri embryos were stained with phalloidin to mark somite outlines. Morphological asymmetry is barely visible at N2, but asymmetrical arrangement of the somites is apparent by the N3 stage. Treatment causes the staggered arrangement of somites to become symmetrical. (C-E) Expression of B. floridae m-actin confirms the asymmetrical arrangement of the somites, and expression of Hu/Elav and ERR reveals staggered arrangement of neurons in the central nervous system. In the treated embryos, the staggered expression patterns of m-actin, Hu/Elav, and ERR along the anterior-posterior axis become bilaterally symmetrical. (F-G) Representative B. belcheri larvae stained with phalloidin (green) and acetylated α-tubulin (red). At larval stages, inhibition of Nodal signaling results in symmetrization of the myotomes and of axons of the peripheral nerves.

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