Interactive Zebrafish Craniofacial Atlases

Multiple facets of morphology must be considered to decipher a craniofacial phenotype. Our objective was to create a resource for functional, anatomical, and developmental information that could be applied to normal and mutant contexts. To this end, we generated interactive, three-dimensional atlases of craniofacial anatomy in wild-type, adult zebrafish. • One atlas is intended to provide fundamental evolutionary context for the zebrafish skull by classifying structures as components of the neurocranium or viscerocranium. This classification system is useful for comparative anatomy among distantly related species, for example, zebrafish versus mouse. • Next, we created a resource depicting the embryological origins of the bones of the skull. Visualizing the embryological origins of craniofacial elements sheds light on potential lineage constraints underlying normal development and mutant morphologies. • Finally, to emphasize the similarities between fish and mammalian skulls, imparted by the shared origin of the head, we created a companion to the “Mouse Skull Fly Through” by Yang Chai’s group that places emphasis on the analogy between skeletal elements in the zebrafish and mouse skull. Each of the three atlases may be rotated and inspected at higher magnification. Internal structures may be revealed by cross-sectional views along any anatomical or oblique section-plane. Furthermore, each bone in may be toggled between visible, semi-transparent, and hidden states. These interactive features enable “virtual dissection” to give a greater sense of the multifarious articulations, sutures, and three-dimensional relationships among craniofacial bones.