Rethinking axial patterning in amphibians

Abstract

Recent revisions in the Xenopus laevis fate map led to the designation of the rostral/caudal axis and reassignment of the dorsal/ventral axis (Lane and Smith [1999] Development 126:423-434; Lane and Sheets [2000] Dev. Biol. 225:37-58). It is unprecedented to reassign primary embryonic axes after many years of research in a model system. In this review, we use insights about vertebrate development from anatomy and comparative embryology, as well as knowledge about gastrulation in frogs, to reexamine several traditional amphibian fate maps. We show that four extant maps contain information on the missing rostral/caudal axis. These maps support the revised map as well as the designation of the rostral/caudal axis and reassignment of the dorsal/ventral axes. To illustrate why it is important for researchers to use the revised map and nomenclature when thinking about frog and fish embryos, we present an example of alternative interpretations of "dorsalized" zebrafish mutations.