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Fig. 4. The FEZ induces outgrowth of an ectopic beak that exhibits dorsoventral
polarity. (A) Schematic view of a stage 25 host FNP, indicating that the
intersection of the dorsal (green) and ventral (yellow) compartments was the
site of outgrowth (red arrow). (B) By stage 36, an egg tooth (*) was evident
on the dorsal upper beak, while the ventral surface has no ectodermal
elaborations. (C) Sagittal trichrome-stained section through the embryo shown
in B demonstrates the dorsoventral relationships among structures in the upper
beak. The egg tooth (asterisk) is located on the dorsal surface; beneath it is
the premaxillary bone (pmx), and below this is the prenasal process (pnp). The
ventral surface of the upper beak (V) lacks any elaborated ectodermal
appendages. (D) Schematic view of a stage 25 host after transplantation of
quail stage 25 FNP ectoderm (red DV). (E,F) This isotopic transplantation had
no effect on facial morphology, despite the fact that the graft was derived
from quail. (G) Schematic view of stage 25 host after FEZ transplantation. The
graft is positioned in the normal, dorsoventral orientation. The expected
outgrowths (arrowheads), with their predicted dorsoventral polarity are
indicated. (H) This grafting scenario resulted in an outgrowth from the
proximal region of the upper beak and contained two egg teeth. The
autochthonous egg tooth (arrowhead) appears normally positioned. (I) The
ectopic beak comprised two egg teeth (red asterisk and arrowhead) located
above two premaxillae (red pmx) each surrounding a prenasal process (red pnp).
These relationships indicated that the ectopic beak had
dorsal-ventral/ventral-dorsal polarity (DVVD). The autochthonous beak
contained an egg tooth (black asterisk), the premaxilla (black pmx), and the
prenasal process (black pnp, dorsal ventral indicated by D and V). (J)
Schematic view of stage A 25 host after transplantation of a rotated FEZ. The
expected outgrowths (arrowheads), with their predicted dorsoventral polarity
are indicated. (K) The ectopic upper beak had a single egg tooth (red
asterisk). (L) The presence of a single egg tooth (red asterisk), a single
premaxilla (red pmx), and a single prenasal process (red pnp) indicated the
ectopic structure had ventral/dorsal polarity. (M) Schematic view of a stage
25 host after isotopic transplantation of a rotated FEZ. The expected
outgrowths (arrows) and their predicted dorsoventral polarity are indicated.
(N) An ectopic structure was evident and, (O) histological analysis indicated
the presence of two egg teeth, a dorsal premaxilla and two prenasal processes.
The relative positions of these structures indicated a DV/VDV polarity to the
beaks. Scale bars: 1 mm.