(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: Development of the optic tectum in larval zebrafish
(Danio rerio)
Student Author(s): Song, Bonita
Faculty Advisor(s): Thompson, Stuart
Pages: 14
Location: Final Papers Biology 176H
Date: June 2004
Abstract: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) begin reacting to
visual stimuli barely after hatching; by seven days, their saccade
reflex (quickly flicking the head and eyes towards a stimulus) is
fully developed. Therefore, the brain region responsible for these
activities the optic tectum must undergo enormous
transformation within this time period. In order to observe the
morphology of this transformation, I examined 3-day old, 5-day old,
and 7-day old larvae, accessing a variety of techniques.
Specifically, I looked at: stained serial sections of whole fish
using a conventional light microscope; confocal images of whole and
dissected fish after injection with lipophilic FM 1-43FX dye; and
scanning electron microscope images of FM 1-43FX-injected fish, which
were produced on a recently-invented, serial-sectioning scanning
electron microscope. Qualitative analysis reveals that structural
change in the tectum is subtle but apparent, with cells proliferating
most rapidly along the bilateral axis of the tectal lobes, and along
the outermost tips of the distal ventricular branches.