Briefly tell us a bit about yourself, your career path over the years, and specifically what led you to begin working on somite patterning and myotome development. In an effort to bring us to the paper can you briefly describe your two step model of myotome formation?

Michael Barresi

When discussing the relation between the initial and second phases of myotome growth, you suggest as a second possibility that the myotome formed during the initial phase could serve as an organizing scaffold for myocytes from different origins. Why do you believe this is a possibility? Has there been work done to support this? Is the first and the second phase interdependent in anyway?

Kristina DiPietrantonio

You say that the formation of myocytes from the four boarders of the dermamyotome is a direct process of cells from the epithelial boarder translocating within the myotome and elongating in the AP axis. My questions are, what are the molecular or physical cues that first initiate this translocation? What causes these cells to migrate/pull towards one another in a multidirectional movement?

Kristin Aligood

Regarding the next steps of myotome growth, what is your lab currently testing to unravel the mechanisms controlling the emergence of proliferation-competent myoblasts and their fusion to primary myocytes to form multinucleated myofibers?

Caroline Walsh

Lastly, overall what past data about myotome formation from other labs supports or disagrees with your two step model? For example, the Kahane lab describes that myofibers were observed to extend directionally either from the rostral or caudal region and are anchored at one end. Did you find any evidence of this "anchoring" in your experiments?

Trudi Cloyd

You presented a two-step mechanism for myotome formation in the chick. Do you have any data that might support this model being conserved minimally across amniotes?

Tram Nguyen

Currently in your opinion what are the most pressing questions in the field of muscle development, and what steps are you taking to address those questions?

Michael Barresi