Abstract
A bold new effort to disrupt every gene in the mouse genome necessitates systematic, interdisciplinary approaches to analyzing patterning defects in the mouse embryo. We present a novel, rapid, and inexpensive method for obtaining high-resolution virtual histology for phenotypic assessment of mouse embryos. Using osmium tetroxide to differentially stain tissues followed by volumetric X-ray computed tomography to image whole embryos, isometric resolutions of 27 μm or 8 μm were achieved with scan times of 2 h or 12 h, respectively, using mid-gestation E9.5-E12.5 embryos. The datasets generated by this method are immediately amenable to state-of-the-art computational methods of organ patterning analysis. This technique to assess embryo anatomy represents a significant improvement in resolution, time, and expense for the quantitative, three-dimensional analysis of developmental patterning defects attributed to genetically engineered mutations and chemically induced embryotoxicity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e61 |
Pages (from-to) | 471-477 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | PLoS genetics |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Genetics(clinical)
- Cancer Research