Live imaging of mouse embryos during pre-implantation and peri-implantation development

Abstract Live visualisation of embryo development is a powerful tool for scientists to understand how morphogenetic events shape the embryo. Here, we report on a culturing technique that allows live imaging of pre- and peri-implantation mouse embryos throughout the process of blastocyst to egg cylinder transition, enabling single cell tracking and delineation of the tissue dynamics accompanying this morphogenetic stage. At the same time, this protocol can be used for pharmacological manipulations of mouse embryos.