Timing of gene regulatory interactions influences hindbrain patterning.

(A) Initial cell distribution at 11 hpf. (B-D) Time series of cell distributions with gene regulation limited to 1, 2 or 3 hour periods from 11–14 hpf while maintaining cell sorting throughout the simulations: (B) 11–12 hpf, (C) 11–13 hpf and (D) 11–14 hpf. All start with the same initial cell distribution and gene expression pattern. hoxb1a expression (red); krox20 expression (blue). Dislocated cells (DCs) are highlighted by yellow edges. (E) The sharpness index (SI) for four boundaries (SI(r2/r3), SI(r3/r4), SI(r4/r5) and SI(r5/r6)) and number of DCs versus time. (F) Rhombomere lengths, (G) SIs and (H) DCs. 100 independent stochastic simulations for each type of convergence were computed under the same parameters. Error bars represent the standard deviation.

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