Pigment Pattern Formation by Contact-Dependent Depolarization

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1212821
• Publication Date: 2012-02-09T20:32:26Z
• Authors: Masafumi Inaba; Hiroaki Yamanaka; Shigeru Kondo
• Keywords: Melanophore

Although recent experimental studies have suggested that the interactions among pigment cells play a key role in skin pattern formation, details of mechanism remain largely unknown. By using an vitro cell culture system, we detected between two types, melanophores and xanthophores, zebrafish skin. During primary culture, melanophore membrane transiently depolarizes when contacted with dendrites xanthophore. This depolarization triggers migration to avoid further contact xanthophores. Cell repulsive movement were not observed jaguar mutant, which shows defective segregation The depolarization-repulsion wild-type may explain behaviors generating stripe zebrafish.