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Fate Mapping Axolotl Embryos in Early Gastrulation

Jessica A. Kaiser

Franklim and Marshall College

Background

Since different amphibians execute gastrulation in different ways, the study of amphibian gastrulation has been complex. A popular method used to examine and explore gastrulation and determine the future fate of cells in amphibian embryos is the visualization of cell movement by application of a vital (non-toxic) dye to the region of interest on the amphibian embryo. This process of observing morphogenetic cell movements with vital dye and correlating wuth developmental fate is known as fate mapping (Gilbert, 2000 and Hamburger 1960).

In 1929, Walter Vogt, an embryologist, used vital dyes to construct fate maps of amphibian embryos. He spread and dried dye and agar on a microscope plate and cut the ends of the dyed agar to apply to desired regions of the embryo. He placed the small vital dye chips on the surface of amphibian embryos at various stages of development to study the movements and fates of various regions of the embryo. Vogt's fate mapping studies at the gastrula stage introduced embryologists to a very useful method of determining which portions of the embryo become which larval or adult structures and to modern investigations of amphibian gastrulation (Hardin, 1995).

Objective

Cells of the amphibian blastula have different fates depending on the position of the cells (dorsal-ventral, anterior-posterior, left-right) and how deep they are in the layers of the embryo (Gilbert, 2000), We will observe the movement of a population of cells to see what thieir developmental fate is by dying the embryos superficial regions at two different positions with respect to the blastopore lip (figure 1).

© Cebra-Thomas 2001

Last Modified: 24 April 2001


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