Dendritic differentiation in the periphery of the growing zebrafish retina.

In the retina of teleost fish, new ganglion cells are generated from a circumferential peripheral growth zone at the edge of the eye throughout life. Addressing the question how new cells are fitted into the existing retina, we investigated newly formed ganglion cells in the zebrafish retina morphologically, by tracing them from the cut optic nerve with rhodamine dextran. We identified proliferating cells by antibody detection against proliferating cell nuclear antigen. In addition, newly formed bipolar cell and amacrine cell dendrites were investigated by antibodies against protein kinase C (PKC) and choline-acetyl-transferase (ChaT), respectively, and analyzed in sections or wholemount preparations using confocal microscopy. In retinal sections we observed that ganglion cell dendritic branches in the inner plexiform layer were in close apposition to dividing cells. In the periphery of retinal wholemounts, we detected rhodamine traced ganglion cells adjacent to the growth zone, extending dendrites in proximity to the growth zone, typically branching off in opposite directions running parallel to the retinal rim over more then 100 microm. Ganglion cells with similar dendritic branching patterns were not found in more central retinal areas. Similarly, the dendrites of ChaT-positive amacrine cells showed a preference for running parallel to the circumference in the periphery. Dendritic branches of PKC-positive bipolar cells did not show similar preferred orientation. The change in shape of the dendritic tree with distance from the periphery was studied for the Ma type ganglion cell. The data are consistent with the idea that existing ganglion cells might control differentiation of new ganglion cells. Moreover, ganglion cells with specific branching patterns towards the retinal periphery undergo a restructuring of their dendritic trees.

Retinotectal ganglion cells in the zebrafish, Danio rerio.

The morphology of retinotectal ganglion cells was investigated by retrograde transport of dextran amines applied into the optic tectum in vitro. Based on criteria such as stratification pattern and size of the dendritic processes, as well as the shape and position of the soma within the dendritic field, three main groups of ganglion cell types with a total of nine different types were identified. The first group included monostratified cells, of which two types (Ma(2) and Mb(5)) may be ON- and OFF-variants, and the third (Mb(6)) had its dendritic field as a narrow band at the inner border of the inner plexiform layer. These three cells had the largest dendritic fields, with areas exceeding 40,000 microm(2). In two additional monostratified cells the dendrites were spread over the entire width of either sublamina a or sublamina b of the inner plexiform layer (Ma, Mb). They were of intermediate size with mean dendritic field areas between 10,000 and 20,000 microm(2). The second group contained two types of bistratified cells (Bb(4/5) and Bb(4,5/5,6)) with two distinct bands of dendritic stratifications in sublamina b. One of them had the smallest dendritic field (below 5,000,mm(2)) of all cell types in the sample. The diffuse cells of the third group had their dendrites across the entire width of the inner plexiform layer. The sample of retinotectal cells investigated in this study included types described previously (Mangrum et al. [2002] Vis Neurosci 19:767-779) but also new types not described previously.