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| Top page>Research>Vertebrate morphogenesis |
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 African clawed toads (Figure 1) |
The brain morphology of vertebrate species consists of several compartments such as telencephalon, diencephalon, and mesencephalon. The basic mechanism for the development of each compartment seems to be consistently the same from fish to mammals. However the size, shape and function of each compartment varies significantly depending upon the species. Especially in higher vertebrates like humans, the telencephalon is greatly expanded and forms the hemisphere of the cerebrum, which is responsible for the species-specific functions such as language and intelligence.
Our long-term goal is to understand how this well-patterned morphology of the brain is generated in terms of ontogeny and phylogeny, and how the individual compartment obtains its specific function through the evolutional process. In order to achieve this goal, one possible way is to define the molecular mechanisms of establishing the elaborately regionalized brain by means of experimental developmental biology, artificially reinforcing or suppressing the formation of specific compartments. Now we focus on the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation of the forebrain pattern using African clawed toads (Figure 1) and chicks. For example, as shown in Figure 2, an irregular pattern of diencephalon, which was caused by an artificial manipulation to the left side of the frog embryo, completely suppressed the formation of the eye in this tailbud embryo. By studying at which stage of brain formation and to which compartment of diencephalon this operation influences, we can determine how the brain pattern is correctly formed through normal development.
 (Figure 2) |
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