Actomyosin contractility in olfactory placode neurons opens the skin epithelium to form the zebrafish nostril.

ABSTRACT: Despite their barrier function, epithelia can locally lose their integrity to create physiological openings during morphogenesis. The mechanisms driving the formation of these epithelial breaks are only starting to be investigated. Here, we study the formation of the zebrafish nostril (the olfactory orifice), which opens in the skin epithelium to expose the olfactory neurons to external odorant cues. Combining live imaging, drug treatments, laser ablation, and tissue-specific functional perturbations, we characterize a mechanical interplay between olfactory placode neurons and the skin, which plays a crucial role in the formation of the orifice: the neurons pull on the overlying skin cells in an actomyosin-dependent manner which, in combination with a local reorganization of the skin epith

SUBMITTER: Baraban M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10023511 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature