The neural crest (NC) is crucial for the evolutionary diversification of vertebrates. NC cells are induced at the neural plate border by the coordinated action of several signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin. NC cells are normally generated in the posterior neural plate border, whereas the anterior neural fold is devoid of NC cells. Using the mouse model, we show here that active repress...

prdm1 is an important transcriptional regulator that plays diverse roles during development of a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species. prdm1 is required for neural crest specification in zebrafish, but not in mouse embryos. The role of this gene in neural crest formation in other species has not been examined, and its regulation during embryonic development is poorly understood. ...

Closure of the neural tube requires both the change and maintenance of cell shape. The change occurs mainly through two coordinated morphogenetic events: cell elongation and apical constriction. How cytoskeletal elements, including microtubules, are regulated in this process in vivo is largely unknown. Here, we show that neural tube closure in Xenopus depends on orthologs of two proteins: MID1,...

In this paper, we present a new design flow for robust license plate localization and recognition. The algorithm consists of three stages: 1) license plate localization; 2) character segmentation; and 3) feature extraction and character recognition. The algorithm uses Mexican hat operator for edge detection and Euler number of a binary image for identifying the license plate region. A pre-proce...

Ectodermal Wnt6 plays an important role during development of the somites and the lateral plate mesoderm. In the course of development, Wnt6 expression shows a dynamic pattern. At the level of the segmental plate and the epithelial somites, Wnt6 is expressed in the entire ectoderm overlying the neural tube, the paraxial mesoderm and the lateral plate mesoderm. With somite maturation, expression...

The entire central nervous system develops from the neural plate, initially a single-cell layered epithelium. Anterior–posterior patterning is established by signals emanating from tissues outside the neural plate, while local signaling centers that are established within the neural plate itself will refine this initial patterning. One signaling center that plays an important role in the early ...

The entire central nervous system develops from the neural plate, initially a single-cell layered epithelium. Anterior–posterior patterning is established by signals emanating from tissues outside the neural plate, while local signaling centers that are established within the neural plate itself will refine this initial patterning. One signaling center that plays an important role in the early ...

The floor plate is a group of specialized cells located in the ventral midline of the vertebrate neural tube. It plays important roles in neural tube development as a source of signalling molecules for dorsoventral patterning and axonal guidance (for reviews, see Jessell and Dodd, 1992; Dodd and Jessell, 1993). A floor plate-derived signalling molecule, Sonic hedgehog (Shh), which is a vertebra...

Expression of the RNA-helicase translation initiation factor, eIF4AII, in animal cap explants of Xenopus specifically upregulates genes expressed early in the neural plate border such as Xsna, Xslu, Pax-3 and XANF and also the cement gland marker XCG-1. eIF4AII is expressed specifically in the prospective neurectoderm from stage 11.5 and appears to have a significant role in mediating early pat...

The entire central nervous system develops from the neural plate, initially a single-cell layered epithelium. Anterior–posterior patterning is established by signals emanating from tissues outside the neural plate, while local signaling centers that are established within the neural plate itself will refine this initial patterning. One signaling center that plays an important role in the early ...