We are pleased to share our recent publication, Insights into the zebrafish Left-Right Organizer's Centrosomes and Cilia via Volume Electron Microscopy, now in print in Biology Open. This study represents a collaboration between the Hehnly and Narayan laboratories and was led by recently graduated Ph.D. student Dr. Favour Ononiwu.
This work addresses a longstanding gap in our understanding of how ultrastructural organization within the left–right organizer contributes to symmetry breaking during vertebrate development. Using volumetric electron microscopy (vEM), we generated a near-complete three-dimensional reconstruction of the zebrafish Kupffer’s vesicle at nanometer resolution, enabling systematic analysis of cilia, centrioles, appendages, and associated vesicular structures in their native tissue context. Our findings reveal previously unappreciated heterogeneity in centrosome architecture and cilia-associated structures, including variability in centriole composition, appendage organization, and the presence of distinct vesicle populations associated with cilia.
Beyond these biological insights, this study establishes a framework for integrating volumetric ultrastructural datasets with developmental and functional analyses, providing a resource for the field and a foundation for future studies of ciliated tissues and left–right patterning mechanisms.
You can find the paper here: https://journals.biologists.com/bio/article/15/3/bio062489/371101/Insights-into-the-zebrafish-left-right-organizer-s
