The lateral line is a superficial sensory organ that allows fish to sense water movements. It is made up of neuromasts that are distributed in lines on the head and side of the fish. Neuromasts are small neuroepithelial patches made of two cell types: hair cells (red) and supporting cells (green). Hair cells are mechanoreceptors, which send cilia into the water. Their deflection triggers signaling that is transmitted to the central nervous system. Supporting cells surround and isolate each hair cell and provide cohesion to the structure. They also account for the regenerative power of the organ when hair cells are destroyed (see Behra et al., doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000455).
Image Credit: Image Credit: Stack of images taken on an upright Zeiss confocal microscope by Martine Behra in Dr. Ben Feldman's laboratory (National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health).
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