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Three‐dimensional morphology of inner ear development in Xenopus laevis
Author(s) -
Miller Bever Michele,
Jean Ying Y.,
Fekete Donna M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.10316
Subject(s) - xenopus , otic vesicle , biology , inner ear , anatomy , vestibular system , tadpole (physics) , membranous labyrinth , embryogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , embryo , neuroscience , genetics , in situ hybridization , gene , gene expression , physics , particle physics
The three‐dimensional morphology of the membranous labyrinth of Xenopus laevis is presented from embryonic through late tadpole development (stages 28 to 52, inclusive). This was accomplished by paint‐filling the endolymphatic spaces of Xenopus ears at a series of stages, beginning with the embryonic otic vesicle and ending with the complex ear of the late tadpole. At stage 52, the inner ear has expanded approximately 23‐fold in its anterior/posterior dimension compared with stage 28 and it is a miniature of the adult form. The paint‐filling technique illustrates the dramatic changes required to convert a simple ear vesicle into the elaborate form of the adult, including semicircular canal formation and genesis of vestibular and auditory organs, and it can serve as a basis for phenotype identification in experimentally or genetically manipulated ears. Developmental Dynamics 227:422–430, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.