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The Slice Culture Method for Following Development of Tooth Germs In Explant Culture
Published on: November 13, 2013
The developmental relationship between teeth and dermal odontodes in the most primitive bony fish Lophosteus
Donglei Chen1, Henning Blom1, Sophie Sanchez1,2,3
1Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract:
The ontogenetic trajectory of a marginal jawbone of Lophosteus superbus (Late Silurian, 422 Million years old), the phylogenetically most basal stem osteichthyan, visualized by synchrotron microtomography, reveals a developmental relationship between teeth and dermal odontodes that is not evident from the adult morphology. The earliest odontodes are two longitudinal founder ridges formed at the ossification center. Subsequent odontodes that are added lingually to the ridges turn into conical teeth and undergo cyclic replacement, while those added labially achieve a stellate appearance. Stellate odontodes deposited directly on the bony plate are aligned with the alternate files of teeth, whereas new tooth positions are inserted into the files of sequential addition when a gap appears. Successive teeth and overgrowing odontodes show hybrid morphologies around the oral-dermal boundary, suggesting signal cross-communication. We propose that teeth and dermal odontodes are modifications of a single system, regulated and differentiated by the oral and dermal epithelia.
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