Protein synthetic patterns of tissues in the early chick embryo

Tissues dissected from early chick embryos were labelled in vitro with [35S]methionine, and their patterns of polypeptide synthesis investigated using the technique of two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Apart from providing a preliminary description of the molecular changes associated with the processes of gastrulation and segmentation in the chick embryo, this study has revealed a number of polypeptides that may be useful as markers of cell type or function. The protein synthetic patterns of hypoblast from early and late gastrulae (stages 2 and 4, respectively: Hamburger & Hamilton, 1951) and of definitive endoblast and junctional endoblast from late gastrulae all resemble one another closely, but differ markedly from that of the epiblast at either stage. The lower layer tissues are characterized by the presence of eleven polypeptides that are largely absent from the epiblast. These findings are discussed with reference to current theories on the origins of the lower layer tissues. Comparisons between the 2-D patterns for tissues dissected from gastrulae and from embryos undergoing segmentation (stage 12) have revealed ten polypeptides showing stage-specific rather than tissue-specific expression. Apart from these ten polypeptides, the 2-D patterns for epiblast and ectoderm were practically identical, and distinguishable from those of other tissues by a lack of any unique polypeptides. On the other hand, stage-4 endoblast and stage-12 endoderm differed in the expression of many polypeptides. One polypeptide was found that may be considered as a marker of mesodermal cell type, as it was present in lateral plate, segmental plate and somitic mesoderm, but not in tissues of the other germ layers. Lateral plate could be distinguished from the other mesodermal tissues in the expression of a number of polypeptides, but the similarity in the 2-D patterns for segmental plate and somites suggest that the separation of somites from the anterior end of the segmental plate is not accompanied by the synthesis of new polypeptides.