 In this movie, I will summarize how neural crest cells are generated in the chicken embryo. The neural crest is a population of multipotent embryonic cells unique to vertebrates, which migrate from the dorsal neural tube early in development to give rise to a diverse array of derivatives, including smooth muscle cells, osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, melanocytes, glia of the peripheral nervous system and neurons. How are neural crest cells generated? During astrolation, the ectoderm is divided into two areas. The neural ectoderm that gives rise to the nervous system and the non-neural ectoderm that gives rise to the epidermis. Underneath the ectoderm, there is the forming mesoderm. Later, but still during astrolation, a third domain appears on the border between the non-neural ectoderm and the neural ectoderm, the neural plate border. During neuralation, as the neural plate begins to close to form the neural tube, the presumptive neural crest cells occupy the dorsal tip of the neural plate, the neural folds, and are laterally flanked by the prospective placodial ectoderm in the cranial regions and by the prospective epidermis in the trunk and tail. When the neural tube fuses, the cells from the neural crest undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition in a rostrocaudal wave and take on stereotypical patterns of migration and give rise to various cell types. Which are the signaling pathways involved in the formation of the neural crest? The neural crest is induced during astrolation and its early development can be explained in a two-steps process. During astrolation, an initial phase of FGF signaling from the ectoderm and mesoderm, wind signaling from the ectoderm and mesoderm, and low or negative BMP signaling from the ectoderm, induces the neural plate border. These signaling pathways integrate early development to induce the expression of a set of regulatory transcription factors, pax, socks, and zig, which specify the neural plate border. In a second phase, during neurolation, wind signaling from the ectoderm and mesoderm, and BMP signaling from the ectoderm, promote a second set of transcription factors called the neural crest specifiers. These are slack and twist. The neural crest specifiers are very important as they control neural crest behavior from epithelial to mesenchymal transition, migration, and differentiation. Once formed, the neural crest cells undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition, start delaminating into separate cell populations, and attain migratory qualities. Although the signaling pathways implicated in neural crest development appear to be conserved among different species, the source, timing, and precise regulation show considerable variation. I hope that you now understand how neural crest induction takes place.