Fig. 4

The lateral line of a 120 hpf zebrafish embryo. (A–D) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the lateral line neuromasts. Neuromasts are indicated by arrowheads (A). Magnified view of the area squared in (A) showing the three terminal neuromasts localized at the tip of the tail (B). View of a neuromast, with the kinocilia and stereocilia of the sensory cells pointing out of the organ. (C). Higher magnification of the neuromast pictured in (C) showing the hair bundles (stereocilia) and the anchoring point of the kinocilium of three hair cells (D). Note that the long kinocilia have been pushed against the body of the fish during sample preparation. Scale bar: 100 μm (A), 50 μm (B), 1 μm (C–D). (E) Schematic representation of the sensory hair cell of the neuromast. Hair cells are depicted within the ultrastructure of the neuromast on the left side. On the right side is shown a detail of the apical surface of a sensory hair cell, with the kinocilium and the stereocilia arranged in staircase. (Ghysen, A., Dambly–Chaudiere, C., 2004. Simplified scheme adapted from development of the zebrafish lateral line. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 14, 67–73). The colors used in the scheme correspond to the colors observed in the immunofluorescence experiments shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.