PgmNr E8019: Zebrafish lateral line as an inquiry-based lab model for cell biology.

Authors:
Jason Meyers


Institutes
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.


Abstract:

As a bridge between a foundations-level survey of biology and upper level electives, we have recently developed a tier of courses that focus more on the process of doing biology rather than being content driven. As part of this tier, we are developing multi-week investigative labs that allow students to take an active role in experimental design, while introducing them to key methods within the field, and focus on iterative student-led exploration rather than obtaining specific expected results. For one of these courses focused at the cellular level, the majority of the laboratory portion utilized the zebrafish lateral line as a model. The zebrafish lateral line is a series of small sensory organs, called neuromasts, along the surface of the fish. These sensory organs are made up of clusters of sensory hair cells, homologous to those in in the inner ear, surrounded by supporting cells. These sensory organs are formed from a migratory primordium that travels along the embryonic fish's body depositing small clusters of cells, with zones of proliferation and differentiation coordinated by well-known signaling cascades including Wnt, FGF, and notch. As the development of the lateral line involves cell migration, cell cycle and proliferation, differentiation and cell cycle exit, cytoskeletal alterations, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions, and cell-cell signaling utilizing several different pathways, this system encapsulates many of the broad themes of cell biology. The rapid development, widely available transgenic lines that label key cell types or serve as reporters, and ease of genetic and pharmacological manipulation make it possible for young undergraduate students to easily explore many different aspects of these cells in an inquiry-based fashion. At the end of the term, students developed their own three-week research project building on aspects of their earlier investigations. The structure of the lab exercises and simple variations, examples of student data, and student outcomes will be discussed.