Wnt, developmental biology, cell & molecular biology

The finding confirms that a cluster of cells that directs the fate of other cells in the developing embryo is evolutionarily conserved across the animal kingdom.

Collective cell migration relies on a directional signal that comes from the moving cluster, rather than from external cues.

Watch the cell transplant experiments in zebrafish that suggest certain embryonic cells rely on intrinsic directional cues for collective migration.