Forebrain development in chick embryo. (A–C)
Bright-field images of extracted embryos. (A) At HH11 (dorsal
view), the brain tube (BT) is divided into three primary vesicles: forebrain
(F), midbrain (M) and hindbrain (H). Optic vesicles (OVs) protrude bilaterally
from the forebrain. (B) By HH13, the forebrain has further divided
into diencephalon (D) and the telencephalon-hypothalamus complex (T). On each
side the optic stalk (OS) has also constricted to separate OVs from T.
(C) By HH20, a 90 degree rotation at the level of the spinal
cord (not shown) results in a lateral instead of dorsal view of the BT. All
sulci persist as the BT bends and expands. Scale bars: 500 µm.
(D) Schematic of forebrain development (lateral view). The
notochord (nt) and caudal-rostral axis (blue-to-green gradient) of the BT are
relatively straight initially. As the BT grows, the notochord and BT bend
ventrally, maintaining dorsal-ventral signaling (black-to-gray gradient) along
the new curvature. Together the OVs, telencephalon (tel), and hypothalamus (hy)
comprise the secondary prosencephalon (SP). DMB, diencephalon-midbrain boundary
sulcus (blue dashed line); AIS, anterior intraencephalic sulcus (green dashed
line).