Development of the turtle plastron, the order-defining skeletal structure
Abstract
The plastron, the order-defining skeletal structure for turtles, provides a bony exoskeleton for the ventral side of the turtle. We provide here the first molecular analysis of plastron bone formation. We show that plastron bone morphogenesis in the ventral mesenchyme employs a program of bone formation that usually characterizes the vertebrate face and skull. The plastron bones, however, have a preliminary step that is not included in head formation: They must suppress the usual chondrogenic programs that would create the sternum cartilage. We suggest that the early osteogenic fate adopted by the ventral mesenchyme prevents the chondrogenic sternal development in turtles and that this was a critical step in forming the ossification centers for this new type of vertebrate structure.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- May 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1600958113
- Bibcode:
- 2016PNAS..113.5317R