Taste bud cell generation in the perihatching chick

Chick taste bud primordia initially appear in late gestation on embryonic day 17 (E17), 4 days before hatching. To track DNA synthesis and subsequent taste bud cell proliferation between E17 and the second day post-hatching (H2), single 25 muCi injections of tritiated thymidine (specific activity = 72.5 Ci/mmol) were administered in ovo during E15, E16, E17 or E18. Anterior mandibular oral epithelium was processed for light microscopic autoradiography. Sections through each taste bud's center were analysed for label (> or = 6 silver grains/gemmal cell nucleus), and bud diameter. Results indicated a major part of gemmal cell DNA synthesis does not occur until after E19 irrespective of the day of thymidine injection, suggesting postmitotic or quiescent (decycled) cells assemble to form the early bud primordium (E17-19) based on local tissue interactions. All buds examined from E20-H2 contained labelled cells. The day of injection was important since 5-day survival cases after E16 injection yielded about 25% the number of labelled cells/bud as compared with equivalent survival cases following E17-18 injections. These results are discussed with respect to parallel changes in bud shape and increasing bud diameter, and cell proliferation in possible extra- and intragemmal sources of bud cells.