Interactions between primordium cells and their environment determines the self-organization of the zebrafish posterior Lateral Line primordium as it migrates under the skin from the ear to the tip of the tail forming and depositing neuromasts to spearhead formation of the posterior Lateral Line sensory system. In this review we describe how the NetLogo agent-based programming environment has been used in our lab to visualize and explore how self-generated chemokine gradients determine collective migration, how the dynamics of Wnt signaling can be used to predict patterns of neuromast deposition, and how previously defined interactions between Wnt and Fgf signaling systems have the potential to determine the periodic formation of center-biased Fgf signaling centers in the wake of a shrinking Wnt system. We also describe how NetLogo was used as a database for storing and visualizing the results of in toto lineage analysis of all cells in the migrating primordium. Together, the models illustrate how this programming environment can be used in diverse ways to integrate what has been learnt from biological experiments about the nature of interactions between cells and their environment, and explore how these interactions could potentially determine emergent patterns of cell fate specification, morphogenesis and collective migration of the zebrafish posterior Lateral Line primordium.

中文翻译：

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基于NetLogo代理的模型可作为了解斑马鱼后外侧外侧原基的细胞命运的自组织，形态发生和集体迁移的工具。

原基细胞与周围环境之间的相互作用决定了斑马鱼后外侧线原基的自组织，因为它在皮肤下从耳朵迁移到尾巴的末端，并形成神经质并沉积到后外侧线感觉系统的先头形成。在这篇综述中，我们描述了如何在我们的实验室中使用基于NetLogo代理的编程环境来可视化和探索自生趋化因子梯度如何确定集体迁移，Wnt信号传导的动力学如何可用于预测神经肥大沉积的模式，以及Wnt和Fgf信号系统之间先前定义的交互如何在Wnt系统缩小之后确定中心偏心的Fgf信号中心的周期性形成。我们还描述了NetLogo如何用作存储和可视化迁移原基中所有细胞的总谱系分析结果的数据库。这些模型一起说明了如何以多种方式使用此编程环境，以整合从生物学实验中了解到的有关细胞与其环境之间相互作用的本质的信息，并探讨这些相互作用如何潜在地确定细胞命运规范的新兴模式，斑马鱼后侧线原基的形态发生和集体迁移。