- An atlas of notochord and somite morphogenesis in
several anuran and urodelean amphibians. Youn BW,
Keller RE, Malacinski GMJ Embryol Exp Morphol
1980 Oct;59:223-47
- A scanning electron microscopic, comparative
survey of notochord and somite formation including
some details of change in cell morphology and
arrangement, was made of selected stages of two
species of anuran amphibians (Xenopus laevis and Rana
pipiens) and two species of urodeles (Ambystoma
mexicanum and Pleurodeles waltlii). The ectoderm or
neural plate was removed from fixed embryos and the
dorsal aspect of the developing notochord and somite
mesoderm was photographed. Micrographs of comparable
stages of all species were arranged together to form
an atlas of notochord and somite formation. Similar
morphogenetic events occur in the same sequence in the
four species. Notochordal cells become distinguishable
from paraxial mesodermal cells by shape, closeness of
packing, and arrangement. Notochordal elongation is
accompanied by a decrease in cross-sectional area and
by cell rearrangement. Somitic mesoderm becomes
distinguished from lateral mesoderm by a change in
cell shape and orientation, followed by segmentation
of somites. The schedule of somite formation was
compared and related to the staging series for each
species. The urodeles differ from the anurans in that
the notochordal region in the early neurula stages in
triangular, with the broadest part in the posterior
region of the embryo. In anurans it is uniform in
width. This difference may reflect differences in
gastrulation and in the mechanism of elongation of the
posterior part of the embryo in the neurula.
- PMID: 6971322, UI: 81169652
|