Neuromasts polarize in different directions depending on when they migrate.

HUDSPETH/ELSEVIER

The direction of cell migration may determine the direction of planar polarization, say Hernán López-Schier, Jim Hudspeth, and colleagues (Rockefeller University, New York, NY).

Planar polarity controls the polarity across epithelial sheets using components distinct from those that determine apical-basal differences. These planar polarity components have been well-studied but all act to interpret rather than generate the planar polarity signal.

Many previous workers studied planar polarity using bristle morphology in flies, but the Rockefeller group set out to study the neuromasts of the lateral line organ in zebrafish—a system where the planar polarity is vital for the biology. Hair cells in the neuromasts must be precisely aligned so they can use polarized stereociliary bundles to detect the direction of water movement.

López-Schier found that the neuromasts migrated posteriorly in two waves from two primordia....

The Rockefeller University Press
2004
The Rockefeller University Press
2004
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