Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1992:165:3-21; discussion 21-6.
doi: 10.1002/9780470514221.ch2.

Clonal analysis of cell fate during gastrulation and early neurulation in the mouse

K A Lawson  1 , R A Pedersen
Affiliations
Review

Clonal analysis of cell fate during gastrulation and early neurulation in the mouse

K A Lawson et al. Ciba Found Symp. 1992.

Abstract

The foundation of the germ layers and the extraembryonic mesoderm from the epiblast between 6.5 and 7.5 days post coitum (p.c.) is accompanied by substantial cell proliferation. It is followed during the next 24 hours by the organization of major systems of the embryo such as the central nervous system, somites, heart and vascular system. Injection in situ of a short-term lineage label (horse radish peroxidase) into single epiblast cells at 6.7 days p.c. and analysis of the descendant clones in cultured embryos have been used to trace these processes and led to the following conclusions: (1) There is extensive but not indiscriminate cell mixing at the onset of gastrulation; epiblast cells spread towards the primitive streak and descendants are there progressively incorporated into mesoderm. (2) The fate map of the mouse epiblast at the early primitive streak stage is topologically similar to those of other vertebrates. (3) Germ layers and the extraembryonic mesoderm are not clonally distinct before gastrulation, the region of overlapping boundaries in the fate map being occupied by cells that will have descendants in more than one layer. (4) Cranial neurectoderm is mainly derived from axial epiblast immediately anterior to the primitive streak of the early streak stage embryo, clonal descendants being spread rostrocaudally in the developing neural tube. Contribution to the putative floor plate is made by progenitors some of which also contribute to notochord and mesoderm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types