Fig 7. Wnt/β-catenin signaling influences anteroposterior patterning of the neural plate during early gastrulation.

To determine the temporal function Wnt/β-signaling on patterning, zebrafish embryos are treated with 5 μM of the Porcupine inhibitor IWP12 to block Wnt secretion. a) Treatment started at different time points (3–7 hpf) until 10 hpf. At 10 hpf and 20 hpf, embryos are fixed and subjected to ISH against otx2 and pax6a, respectively. b) Embryos treated from 3 hpf and 4 hpf to 10 hpf showed a significant increase of the forebrain and midbrain tissue at 10 hpf and an enlarged area of the eye vesicle at 20 hpf. c) Embryos treated after this time point showed only marginal changes in patterning, suggesting that Wnt signaling is required between 3–5 hpf to pattern the neural plate.