Spatial-temporal dynamics of morphogenetic blastoderm potencies in early embryogenesis of the loach

Abstract

The degree of differentiation of axial structures (notochord, neuroectoderm, and somites) in 24-hour explants (a total of 380) of the loach embryonic blastoderm was determined on histological sections according to a developed scale of estimates. Before the beginning of epiboly, axial structures were formed only from fragments of the dorsal sector of the blastoderm marginal zone. Its other sectors acquired the capacity of forming axial structure only with the beginning of epiboly, as the germ ring was formed in the marginal zone, unlike the cells outside the germ ring. The degree of differentiation of axial structures in the dorsal sector of marginal zone increased reliably with the appearance of embryonic shield, i.e. area of the convergence of cell flows. Here, statistically significant regional differences in morphogenetic potencies of the marginal zone first appeared, which corresponded to the differences in prospective significance of its materials; notochord and neuroectoderm better differentiate from the dorsal sector material, while somites better differentiate from the ventral sector material. Thus, distribution of morphogenetic potencies reflects precisely the spatial-temporal dynamics of collective movement of the blastoderm cells during the normal course of morphogenesis.