Fig. 7

Overexpression of Lurap1 impairs CE movements and notochord cell polarity. a–f In situ hybridisation analysis using dlx3 (a–c) and ntla (d–f) to reflect the extent of neural plate convergence and axial mesoderm extension in zebrafish embryos. Overexpression of Lurap1 potently affects CE movements, while Lurap1ΔC shows a weak effect. g–i Analysis by confocal microscopy of notochord width and cell shape in indicated conditions. Representative images are shown, with statistical numbers of embryos scored from three independent experiments. j, k Graphs show the statistics of cell shape (LWR) and orientation of notochord cells in uninjected, and lurap1 or lurap1ΔC-injected embryos. Bars represent the mean values ± s.d. and the data were calculated using 20 cells randomly selected in a representative image for each condition (***P < 0.001; NS, not significant; Student’s t-test). l–n Live images of normal and CE defective Xenopus embryos at tail-bud stage. o Statistical analysis of the dose-dependent CE defects following overexpression of Lurap1 or Lurap1ΔC. The colour codes for different categories of phenotypes are indicated in the live images on the left. The data were scored from four experiments using different batches of embryos, with total number of embryos shown on the top of each stacked column. Xdd1 was included in the analysis for a comparison. Scale bars: a–f 200 µm; g–i 20 µm; l–n 1.2 mm