Extracting multiple surfaces from 3D microscopy images in complex biological tissues with the Zellige software tool

Background Efficient tools allowing the extraction of 2D surfaces from 3D-microscopy data are essential for studies aiming to decipher the complex cellular choreography through which epithelium morphogenesis takes place during development. Most existing methods allow for the extraction of a single and smooth manifold of sufficiently high signal intensity and contrast, and usually fail when the surface of interest has a rough topography or when its localization is hampered by other surrounding structures of higher contrast. Multiple surface segmentation entails laborious manual annotations of the various surfaces separately. Results As automating this task is critical in studies involving tissue-tissue or tissue-matrix interaction, we developed the Zellige software, which allows the extraction of a non-prescribed number of surfaces of varying inclination, contrast, and texture from a 3D image. The tool requires the adjustment of a small set of control parameters, for which we provide an intuitive interface implemented as a Fiji plugin. Conclusions As a proof of principle of the versatility of Zellige, we demonstrate its performance and robustness on synthetic images and on four different types of biological samples, covering a wide range of biological contexts.

Automated summary

Efficient tools for extracting 2D surfaces from 3D microscopy data are essential for studying the complex cellular choreography of epithelium morphogenesis. The Zellige software allows the extraction of multiple surfaces with varying inclination, contrast, and texture from a 3D image, providing a solution to the limitations of existing methods. The software has been demonstrated to perform well on synthetic images and various biological samples.