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Developmental dynamics of occipital and cervical somites
Author(s) -
Maschner Anja,
Krück Stefanie,
Draga Margarethe,
Pröls Felicitas,
Scaal Martin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1111/joa.12516
Subject(s) - somite , myotome , biology , anatomy , compartment (ship) , embryo , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , embryogenesis , oceanography , geology
Development of somites leading to somite compartments, sclerotome, dermomyotome and myotome, has been intensely investigated. Most knowledge on somite development, including the commonly used somite maturation stages, is based on data from somites at thoracic and lumbar levels. Potential regional differences in somite maturation dynamics have been indicated by a number of studies, but have not yet been comprehensively examined. Here, we present an overview on the developmental dynamics of somites at occipital and cervical levels in the chicken embryo. We show that in these regions, the onset of sclerotomal and myotomal compartment formation is later than at thoracolumbar levels, and is initiated simultaneously in multiple somites, which is in contrast to the serial cranial‐ to‐ caudal progression of somite maturation in the trunk. Our data suggest a variant spatiotemporal regulation of somite development in occipitocervical somites.