Development of deciduous and permanent dentitions in the upper jaw of the house shrew (Suncus murinus)

The diphyodont tooth replacement in mammals is characterized by a single replacement of a deciduous dentition by a permanent dentition. Despite its significance in mammalian biology and paleontology, little is known about the developmental mechanisms regulating the diphyodont replacement. Because the mouse never replaces its teeth, this study used the house shrew, Suncus murinus, as a model to investigate the control of the diphyodont replacement of a deciduous dentition by successions and additions of permanent teeth. Using morphological and gene expression analyses of serial sections, we have demonstrated the development of the upper dentition of the house shrew. In this species, the deciduous tooth germs are formed but soon become vestigial, whereas the successional and accessional (molar) germs are subsequently formed and developed. There are distinct Shh expression domains in the deciduous, successional, and accessional tooth germs, and those of the latter two germs are identified from the appearance of their primary enamel knots. The developmental sequence of tooth germs in the house shrew indicates that two adjacent primary enamel knots of the successional and accessional germs do not develop simultaneously, but with a constant time lag. We suggest that this mode of tooth succession and accession can be explained by a sequential inhibitory cascade model in which the timing of initiation and the spacing of tooth development are determined by the inhibition from the primary enamel knots of developmentally preceding adjacent tooth germs.