Figure 3.

Hindbrain patterning and differentiation in the mouse. Embryos between Embryonic day E9.5 and E10.5 are shown. A. Rhombomeres, repeating segments that begin at the anterior aspect of the spinal cord (r7) and end at the region of the hindbrain that will give rise to the cerebellum (r1), are sites of differential gene expression. This information is maintained by migratory neural crest in the branchial arches (ba). B. Neural crest migration from the hindbrain at E10.5, visualized by Wnt1:Cre-dependent recombination of a tdTomato reporter, generates the cranial ganglia essential for feeding and swallowing (gCN V, VII, IX, and X). C. Cranial ganglion cells express a variety of transcription factors (Onecut1, or Oc1 is shown here) as cranial sensory neurons differentiate and extend axons into the peripheral structures that will mediate feeding and swallowing. D. Cranial motor neurons and their progenitors express multiple transcriptional regulators (Nkx6.1 and Isl1 are shown here) that identify subsets of these cells during mid-gestation. TuJ1 = anti neuron-specific β-tubulin (Tubb3).