The lateral musculature in the midbody region of the teleost, Brachydanio rerio, was examined by light and electron microscopy in the adult and six developmental stages. Two main divisions of the adult lateral musculature are described: (1) a superficial portion composed of small, dark fibers with high fat content and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activity; and (2) a deep portion composed principally of larger, pale, "deep fibers" showing little SDH activity and containing little fat. Some "intermediate fibers" are also present in the deep portion near the horizontal septum. Myofibrils of all cell types appear ultrastructurally similar. A general outline of myotomal differentiation has been established for the midbody somites.Myogenesis begins at the medial surface of the somite between the 20-and 25-somite stages and progresses laterally. Shortly before hatching, the myotome contains two structurally dissimilar types of young muscle cells. The appearance of these two muscle cell populations in larvae and fry supports the hypothesis that they develop into the superficial and deep portions of the adult lateral musculature. The intermediate fiber population is present by 2 % months. The most lateral cells of the somite form a layer of flattened cells covering the lateral myotomal surface in the 33-somite embryo, and are considered to form the dermatome in this species.

No abstract

The developing inner ear of the teleost, Brachydanio rerio, provides an opportunity for observing an epithelial fusion between the apical surfaces of apposed epithelia in a vertebrate embryo in vivo. The developing otocyst was filmed for periods up to 4 days in unanesthetized embryos, and specimens were fixed at intervals and processed for light microscopy, TEM, and SEM. The semicircular canals are formed as a consequence of the union between the tips of three cylindrical projections from the wall of the otocyst, which grow toward corresponding bulges of a projection from the lateral wall. The epithelial cells covering the projections contain extensive rough endopasmic reticulum, exhibit apical junctional complexes, and are not underlain by a basal lamina. The core of each projection contains large amounts of flocculent and fibrillar extracellular material. After a period of growth and elongation, the tip of each projection contacts, and adheres to, the appropriate bulge to create a circular, flattened, bilayered, epithelial plate. Small, focal junctions form between the apposed apical cell surfaces within the plate during this period, but they are not numerous. Junctional complexes do develop, however, between apposed cells at the periphery of the plate. After 1-2 hours, the basal surface of the plate exhibit considerable alteration in contour. Adjacent cells within the plate then separate to allow continuity of the connective tissue components of the two structures. The observations of this study indicate that following an initial period of contact and adhesion, cellular reorientation and changes in junctional contacts between adjacent cells within the epithelial plate, rather than cell degeneration, are responsible for perforation of the plate.