2008/10/09 by Philipp Keller, Annette D. Schmidt, Joachim Wittbrodt +1 · 1,636 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques #Anatomy #Biology #Cell #Cell Image Analysis Techniques #Cell biology #Developmental biology #Embryo #Embryogenesis #Embryonic stem cell #Fate mapping #Fluorescence #Fluorescence microscope #Genetics #Light sheet fluorescence microscopy #Live cell imaging #Microscopy #Morphogenesis #Nucleus #Optics #Physics #Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics #Stem cell #Vertebrate #Zebrafish
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1162493
published in Science 322(5904), 1065-1069 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 2008/10/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
A long-standing goal of biology is to map the behavior of all cells during vertebrate embryogenesis. We developed digital scanned laser light sheet fluorescence microscopy and recorded nuclei localization and movement in entire wild-type and mutant zebrafish embryos over the first 24 hours of development. Multiview in vivo imaging at 1.5 billion voxels per minute provides "digital embryos," that is, comprehensive databases of cell positions, divisions, and migratory tracks. Our analysis of global cell division patterns reveals a maternally defined initial morphodynamic symmetry break, which identifies the embryonic body axis. We further derive a model of germ layer formation and show that the mesendoderm forms from one-third of the embryo's cells in a single event. Our digital embryos, with 55 million nucleus entries, are provided as a resource.