planar-cell polarity

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.

Associate Professor in Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Texas at Austin, John Wallingford, makes his living using cutting-edge microscopic techniques to watch developmental events unfold in real time.

In exploring how embryos take shape, John Wallingford has identified a key pathway involved in vertebrate development—and human disease.